2. Monument Avenue in the Civil Rights Era and After

J.E.B. Stuart Monument
Unveiling Ceremony
Arthur Ashe Monument

Dublin Core

Title

2. Monument Avenue in the Civil Rights Era and After

Description

The practice of memorializing Virginia’s central role in the American Civil War emphasized Lost Cause ideology while simultaneously avoiding the issues of racism and the ongoing harm to the descendants of the formerly enslaved population of the state. The Civil Rights Era signified a shift in the debate over the role of Monument Avenue in the former Confederate capital city. The centennial of the Civil War renewed Monument Avenue’s role as a preserver of Southern heritage and legacy. Subsequently, the mobilization of African American political organizations coupled with the flight of the white population away from the city, and towards the suburbs, initiated a fear of an African American political majority among the white elites in Richmond. These political elites believed that the rise of an African American majority would result in the tearing down of both the monuments and the ideology which the avenue had come to represent over the decades. Such a fear influenced local politics in 1965 when the Richmond City Planning Commission (CPC) examined plans to modernize Monument Avenue and centralize the city’s Confederate iconography.

These proposals were laid out in the December 1965 pamphlet, Design for Monument Avenue. The plan to remove the brick surface lining the avenue and instead replace it for an asphalt surface, as a traffic-friendly corridor, created significant controversy. There was a fear that the historical look of Monument Avenue would be erased in favor of a more modern image. Out of these fears grew a political coalition of like minded preservationists called the Monument Avenue Preservation Society (MAPS). While the CPC had attempted to streamline and extend the marketable imagery of the Confederacy on Monument Avenue, MAPS prevented modernization and kept the statues where they had originally been dedicated.

The society for preservation described Monument Avenue as a “bridge from past to present,” and reasoned that it was “incumbent upon the community today to be aware of this heritage and the artifacts which preserve it, so that our activities reinforce rather than obscure those elements of our heritage which we value.” Instead of modernizing the avenue, MAPS convinced the CPC to add more statues, both significant and relevant, to the Lost Cause narrative. One such statue was the project of sculptor Salvador Dali who had been commissioned to create a monument dedicated to Sally Tompkins. Known as the “Angel of the Confederacy,” Tompkins operated Robertson Hospital which regularly treated Confederate soldiers. The furor over Dali’s proposal ultimately defused the 1965 and 1966 efforts to expand the memorial strip since it would possibly alter the public’s familiar perception of Monument Avenue.

While the CPC and the Virginia General Assembly did extend protection over the avenue, ensuring the statues could not be removed by an African American majority, attempts to introduce new statues ground to a halt.
The addition of another statue would not come until the 1990s with the death of beloved Virginia activist and athlete, Arthur Ashe. After his passing, the Richmond City Council looked for a way to memorialize the local hero. The proposed statue, designed by local sculptor Paul DiPasquale, and approved by Arthur Ashe prior to his passing, was originally intended to be placed outside of the Hard Road to Glory Hall, a never realized hall of fame for African American athletes. The 24-foot bronze and granite statue was hotly debated for a potential spot on Monument Avenue. The opposition to Ashe’s placement on Monument Avenue argued that the statue would tarnish the Civil War theme established by the original monument association. However, calls for inclusivity prevailed, and the statue was dedicated on July 10th, 1996. The monument to Ashe remains to this day on the far western edge of Monument Avenue.

Source

Barbee, M. M. Race and Masculinity in Southern Memory: History of Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue, 1948-1996. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2014.

Date

1960-1996

Contributor

Art Hernandez, Sean Ghafourian, and Kareem Khaled

Language

English

Identifier

HIST 402A Fall 2020, 2021, 2023

Coverage

Richmond, Virginia

Geolocation