The Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Brown's Island, Richmond, Virginia, is a public statue installed on September 22, 2021.[2] The monument includes two 12-foot (3.7 m) bronze statues of an emancipated man and woman with an infant.[3] The woman is holding a piece of paper with the date January 1, 1863 which corresponds with the day U.S. president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.[4]
Emancipation and Freedom Monument | |
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Location in Virginia | |
Artist | Thomas Jay Warren[1] |
Completion date | 2021 |
Medium | Bronze statues |
Subject | Emancipation |
Dimensions | 12 feet (3.7 m) (height) |
Location | Brown's Island, Richmond, Virginia |
37°32′04″N 77°26′38″W / 37.5344°N 77.4439°W | |
The monument was designed by Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren.[2] Virginia senator Jennifer McClellan led the commissioning of the statue. According to McClellan, "it's the first state-funded statue celebrating emancipation in the U.S."[2]
Composition
editThe pedestal features the names, photos, and stories of ten Virginians who participated involved both before and after emancipation.[4]
Pre-emancipation
edit- Mary Bowser, former enslaved Union spy during the Civil War[4]
- William Harvey Carney, soldier and formerly enslaved[4]
- Gabriel, enslaved blacksmith and rebellion leader[4]
- Dred Scott, enslaved man and plaintiff of Dred Scott v. Sandford[4]
- Nat Turner, enslaved preacher and rebellion leader[4]
Post-emancipation
edit- Rosa Dixon Bowser, educator and women's rights activist[4]
- John Mercer Langston, politician and academic administrator[4]
- John Mitchell Jr., community activist, newspaper editor, and political candidate[4]
- Lucy F. Simms, educator[4]
- Wyatt Tee Walker, civil rights activist and reverend[4]
Gallery
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view 1
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view 2
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Emancipation and Freedom Monument Pedestal 01
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Emancipation and Freedom Monument Pedestal 02
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Emancipation and Freedom Monument Pedestal 03
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Virginia's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission".
- ^ a b c Shivaram, Deepa (September 22, 2021). "An Emancipation Statue Debuts In Virginia Two Weeks After Robert E. Lee Was Removed". NPR. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
- ^ "Emancipation monument unveiled in Richmond, Virginia". PBS NewsHour. 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Coleburn, Caroline; Thompson, Cameron (2021-09-22). "Emancipation and Freedom Monument unveiled on Brown's Island in Richmond". WTVR. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
External links
edit- "Official Website: Emancipation and Freedom Monument". Virginia's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission.