A new emancipation monument was unveiled in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday that features two 12-foot bronze statues — one of a woman holding an infant and one of a man freed from chattel slavery.
Watch the dedication ceremony in the player above.
The monument project first began in 2013, when the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission wanted to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in Confederate territory to be free in 1863. The monument was designed by Oregon artist Thomas Jay Warren.
At the base of the Emancipation and Freedom Monument are the names of 10 African American Virginians who have fought for emancipation and freedom of formerly enslaved people or their descendants.
The people honored include Nat Turner, who mounted a 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia; John Mitchell Jr., an activist and newspaper editor who, in 1921, was the first African American to run for Virginia governor; and Lucy F. Simms, an influential teacher in the Harrisonburg, Virginia, area whose career spanned five decades.
WATCH: Robert E. Lee statue is removed in Richmond
The emancipation monument is being erected on Brown's Island, a public park in Richmond, about two weeks after the large bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from its prominent spot on the city's historic Monument Avenue.
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
Canvas supported by
Knight Foundation
Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The NBA has banned Toronto two-way player Jontay Porter after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports…
The new film "Civil War" is stirring debate and provoking conversation about where a divided nation could lead. It topped…
A movie weapons supervisor has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by…
PEN's response to Israel's invasion of Gaza has been widely criticized by writers who believe the organization has failed to…
Faith Ringgold, an award-winning author and artist who broke down barriers for Black female artists and became famous for her…
Entrepreneur and author Derrick Fennell has been a flight attendant for more than 14 years. Many of his passengers know…
The Italian-born designer became renowned in the early 1970s for his animal prints and a sexy Italian style that remained…
More than 4,000 library book bans were attempted in public and school libraries in 2023, according to the American Library…
The decorated football star who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but wound up…
In the summer of 2022, historic flooding in eastern Kentucky washed away homes and entire communities, claiming more than 40…
Her latest album, the epic "Act ll: Cowboy Carter," hit No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart, making her…
Narsiso Martinez is an artist whose work celebrates the vital and often invisible labor performed by farmworkers. Martinez's work is…
The conviction stemmed from an altercation last March in which Majors' then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari accused him of attacking her in…
Some people see older buildings as revered artifacts that have stood the test of time, but others see them as…
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' by Mark Twain is one of the cornerstones of American literature. "James," a new novel…