![Untitled [Juneteenth March]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54755948e4b05276392e66b3/1626818160929-CWYINQ5X6TK4VH2TWDDU/March_WS_DSC00343B%26W.jpg)
On July 1st, 2020 the Stonewall Jackson monument was removed from its pedestal on Richmond’s Monument Avenue, where Confederate monuments have been prominently displayed since 1890. During their tenure, they have played a historical role by honoring past confederate leaders, but have also signaled an ongoing lack of inclusion of the african american community.
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Ignoring the driving rain, a BLM supporter delivers her message in front of Richmond’s First Baptist Church at the corner of Monument Avenue and Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
An arm is raised in jubilation as Stonewall Jackson is lifted from his pedestal on Monument Avenue.
Undaunted by the pouring rain, a vast crowd waited hours for the moment when the statue of Stonewall Jackson would hover just inches above ground - soon to be placed on a flatbed truck and hauled away.
The bronze statue of Stonewall Jackson, 17.5 feet tall, 7 feet wide, and 20 feet long is strapped onto a flatbed trailer, resting on a stack of old tires. It is approximately 7:00p.m. - seven hours after the process of removing the statue had begun - as it is about to be hauled away under a police escort. [The image title is drawn from the flatbed’s name.]
The family of George Floyd came to Richmond on July 27th - in coordination with change.org - to kick off a nationwide campaign in support of justice for their brother who died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, MN.
The day-long Juneteenth celebrations taking place at the Lee Memorial included a candlelight vigil.
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Covered in grafitti the monument achieved national attention and was called by the New York Times Style Magazine, the most influential work of protest art since World War II. It became a place of pilgrimage for many whom had avoided the monument in the past.
A young man sits at the base of the heavily graffitied Lee Memorial on June 19th.
A cyclist’s headlamp pierces heavy, humid air as he rides in parallel to hundreds of protestors on Monument Avenue.
Singer-songwriter Trey Songz, raised in the nearby community of Petersburg, hosted a rally at the Lee Memorial earlier in the day, and led this march through the streets of Richmond. Juneteenth, 2020.
With large crowds anticipated over the Juneteenth weekend, security was established by event organizers.
Note: Virginia gun laws allow “open carry” without a special permit, except where specifically prohibited by statute.
George Floyd’s brother, Rodney, stands in silent protest between a projected image of his brother and a denuded Jefferson Davis Memorial. July 27, 2020.
On Sunday morning June 28, two african american men work to eraticate graffiti depositited by an unidentified white male earlier that same day.
The last remnants of storm clouds are illuminated by a setting sun over top of the granite pedestal that had previously housed a statue of Stonewall Jackson for 101 years - July 1st, 2020.