Could the "Former Capitol of The Confederacy" become “The Beacon of Racial Reconciliation” for America?
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The Unveiling of the Reconciliation Triangle Statue in Richmond, Virginia
Thousands came out to witness the unveiling of the statue in the Shockoe Bottom district of Richmond in March 2007.
Dr. Paige Lanier Chargois
Former National Associate Director, Hope in the Cities
In such a super-charged and pivotal moment politically and racially, can Richmond’s citizens dare to mount the world stage and envision reconciliation in 2022? The Gen. Robert E. Lee statue that once commanded our attention is now gone. And we are free to champion a new possibility to fill that space!
A stone embodiment of another historical person could divide us as deeply as the Lee statue has. However, a symbol that reflects our greater human aspirations could free us from that morass. Someone once said, “Symbols are the imaginative signposts of life.” Contrasting historic statues and erected symbols, I offer that symbols point while statues merely glare! Therefore, erecting a symbol could, perchance, raise our sights towards a better quality of community! The great news is that symbol is already in Richmond!
It’s a statue not of an individual historic figure but of two humans standing in an embrace symbolizing their reconciliation. It was created by Mr. Stephen Broadbent, a world-classed sculpturer of Liverpool, England. This is a city that prospered mightily from selling Africans into slavery! Liverpool’s 100 City Councilors not only lamented over such history but also engaged others in Africa and America in efforts towards racial reconciliation. They boldly acknowledged their history, overlayed that history with changed minds resulting in a grand piece of art that not only symbolized and affirmed those efforts but also spoke to a new day in their city! Replicas now sit on three continents!
Read all about the design process by Broadbent Studio for the Reconciliation Triangle below:
Image (left) of the Reconciliation Triangle Statue unveiling in Cotonou, Benin and Image (right) of the unveiling in Liverpool, England.
Some posit that America could not be more racially polarized than it is right now while yearning for serious and credible efforts towards reconciliation! Thus, it seems clear that selecting another person of history to be ensconced in Lee’s place solves nothing, potentially irritates many, and undermines our vision of a better community! Could relocating the “Reconciliation Statue” from Main Street to the Lee site reignite a spark of hope and inspire greater efforts towards valuing one another?
Might we opt for a statue that symbolizes our oft-UNspoken hopes and inspires our quest for a more harmonious community? Historically we’ll always be “the former capitol of the Confederacy”. The Reconciliation Statue is a symbol that expresses the best of our human yearnings and potential. Can Richmond, then, become the “Capitol of Reconciliation”?
Additional images of the Reconciliation Triangle Statue unveiling in Richmond, Virginia.
Few efforts towards racial reconciliation in America, and internationally, have equaled the efforts of Hope In The Cities (HIC). The depth and breadth of such efforts sought to supersede lingering effects of the historic slave trade. HIC enabled Richmond to play a vital role across America and in many parts of the world. Decades of such efforts beckon Richmond towards a future that positively intersects with the issues of race!
Images of the Reconciliation Triangle Statue after unveiling in Liverpool.
In 1999 the City Council of Liverpool, England, made a formal apology for its massive role in the historic slave trade.They said, “we can’t hide our history, it is built into the foundations of many institutions and buildings.” Such reckoning birthed a copy of the “Reconciliation” statue for Benin, West Africa – the second leg of the Slave Trade Triangle!
In 2000, Liverpool’s Lord Mayor, Councilor Joe Devaney, invited HIC and the City of Richmond to share in their celebration. Vice Mayor Rudy McCollum, Jr., represented Mayor Kaine. As Rudy and I stood in Mr. Broadbent's Liverpool studio, I raised the possibility of a replica being brought to the Americas – even more specifically to Richmond – noting that our collective work wasn't done until a replica of that statue stood in the Americas as well! And why not in Richmond?
Upon my return, as a member of the Slave Trail Commission, I heartily made that recommendation to help supplant the bitterness of the historic slave-trade with the message of racial reconciliation and it was unanimously accepted. Delegate McQuinn and Delegate Baskerville later led the effort to secure the needed financing. It has stood across from Main Street Station since 2005!
Images of the Reconciliation Triangle Statue unveiling in Cotonou, Benin.
Since this statue unites Richmond with the same aspirations of those in Africa and Europe, our making it more accessible in a more prominent location would underscore its message and significance! Thus, relocating it from 11th and Main to the more storied Monument Avenue, where the base of the Robert E. Lee statue formerly stood, would make Richmonders proud AGAIN! Leaving the past doesn’t change it; it simply makes our future more monumental!