Today I was a guest on the WRVA Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid.
We discussed the discouraging storage of Richmond’s last remaining Confederate statue and relics and how horribly this situation has developed. Furthermore, a lack of the long-term planning for these statues has yet to be determined.
I encourage you to listen to the full interview.
I shared how Monroe Harris, President of the Board of Directors of The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia is on public record as acknowledging receipt of the statues and relics of Confederate Generals, etc. for the museum.
He has not explained why he did this, whether this was his sole decision or part of a board of directors vote, and how this could — in any way — be in furtherance of the goals and precepts of this museum.
Harris was also President of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Board of Trustees at the same time, yet made no such suggestion that the VMFA house the relics of the confederacy.
In fact, during his public statements last week in accepting the Confederate statues, he made not a single mention entailing the reasons for this decision. The people need more transparency from city officials, which has been absent since this seeming chicanery surfaced. Is Harris going to solely speak for the museum?
After the removal of the statue of Stonewall Jackson on Monument Avenue, July 2020, Mayor Stoney claimed he would be working with the City Council to outline “an inclusive public process” to determine the ultimate fate of the statues. Until then, they would be kept in storage.
When did this “inclusive public process” take place and why was there no public process to discuss the harboring of these Confederate artifacts?
Why have local politicians failed to be a part of this process? The expenses of relocating the statues and relics, born by the taxpayers, have not been small.
Was the public ever to have input? There must be a fair time and place for all interested parties to participate in determining what is right. When an issue demands to be set right, it’s always right to talk about it.
Stay tuned.
