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A Formal Dedication of the Virginia Women’s Monument took place on October 14, 2019. The Virginia Women’s Monument Commission will be dedicated seven statues. The seven statues will be of Anne Burras Laydon, Cockacoeske, Mary Draper Ingles, Elizabeth Keckly, Laura Copenhaver, Virginia Randolph, and Adele Clark.
The Virginia General Assembly established the Booker T Washington Commemorative Commission in 2021 (Senate Resolution 95) in “Supporting the establishment of a commemorative commission to honor Booker T. Washington with a statue in the Old Senate Chamber”.
The monument, designed by Thomas Jay Warren of Oregon, will feature a 12-foot bronze statue representing newly freed slaves. Dedicated to the contributions of African American Virginians in the centuries-long fight for emancipation and freedom, the monument also will highlight notable African American Virginians who have made significant contributions to the emancipation and freedom of formerly enslaved persons or descendants. The base of the monument will feature the names, images, and brief biographical information about eight African American Virginians whose lives were dedicated to Emancipation and freedom — five individuals from the period before Emancipation through 1865, and five who continued to work for freedom from 1866 to 1970.
Currently on view in the Capitol Visitor Center through December 2019, “The Great Charter and the General Assembly: Founding a Legacy in 1619” is an exhibition that commemorates the 400th anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly. In 1619 the Virginia Company of London sent a set of instructions to the Virginia Colony’s newly appointed governor, Sir George Yeardley (1587-1627).
These instructions came to be known as the “Great Charter” and resulted in sweeping reforms in the management of the colony. Among the most significant was the establishment of an elected assembly. This assembly first met at Jamestown, Virginia in the summer of 1619. This pivotal event in American history marks the founding of what is today the Virginia General Assembly, the oldest representative legislative assembly in the New World. Virginia’s General Assembly has been meeting annually ever since that first historic gathering 400 years ago. Virginia’s 400 year tradition of representative government and the institution of elections stand as lasting legacies and the foundation on which American government and democracy have been built.
Mantle is now complete. Located adjacent to the Bell Tower on Capitol Square, Mantle serves as the first monument to honor the important heritage and history of the Virginia Tribal Communities. Designed by Alan Michelson, a member of the Mohawk Tribe and a renowned New York-based installation artist, this remarkable monument serves as a meditation space where visitors can either walk the labyrinth or sit and contemplate. It is also a gathering spot where groups can formally or informally assemble.
Past Events for Virginia Indian Tribute
On Saturday, June 24, 2017, the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission and the Virginia Capitol Foundation hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the Virginia Indian Tribute. This monument, entitled “Mantle”, recognizes the lasting legacy and significance of American Indians in the Commonwealth.
The featured speaker at the groundbreaking was Billy Mills, member of the Oglala Lakota (Souix) tribe and the Olympic gold medal winner of the 10,000 meter run in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 24 in Capitol Square, located at 1000 Bank Street in Richmond. The public was invited to join in the groundbreaking ceremony.
The groundbreaking celebration was made possible by the Running Strong for American Indian Youth Foundation, co-founded by Billy Mills to help American Indian people with their immediate survival needs and strengthen American Indian communities across the nation.
The total cost for the monument was nearly $900,000. Thanks to our many contributors and sponsors in seeing the project from concept to completion. Important donations to note are; $100,000 matching grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation and a 2:1 matching grant from the Cabell Foundation, plus donations from NewMarket, Dominion, the Windsor Foundation, Titan America, and the Running Strong for American Indian Youth Foundation.
See the Richmond Times-Dispatch Story.
See the Indian Country Media Network Story.
Read an article from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
See photos from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Download the Press Release for this past Event.
Download the ceremony invite which was open to the public.
Photos from the Groundbreaking ceremony at the new monument site can be seen below.
2021 Unveiling
On September 22, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission unveiled the Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Brown’s Island. The ceremony included remarks from Governor Ralph Northam, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, and the Commission’s chair, Senator Jennifer L. McClellan, and vice-chair, Delegate Delores L. McQuinn. Dr. Lauranett L. Lee delivered the keynote address, and the Elegba Folklore Society performed a libation ceremony.
The full order of ceremony is included in the program booklet.
The monument, designed by Thomas Jay Warren of Oregon, will feature a 12-foot bronze statue representing newly freed slaves. Dedicated to the contributions of African American Virginians in the centuries-long fight for emancipation and freedom, the monument also will highlight notable African American Virginians who have made significant contributions to the emancipation and freedom of formerly enslaved persons or descendants. The base of the monument will feature the names, images, and brief biographical information about eight African American Virginians whose lives were dedicated to Emancipation and freedom — five individuals from the period before Emancipation through 1865, and five who continued to work for freedom from 1866 to 1970.
The Sept. 7 event supported monument honoring contributions of Virginia women and proceeds help fund sculpture of Adèle Goodman Clark.
Author and television personality Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, will headline a special event hosted by the Virginia Capitol Foundation to raise awareness of and build community support for Voices from the Garden – the Virginia Women’s Monument on Capitol Square. This marks Hager’s first public speaking appearance in Richmond.
“A Conversation with Jenna Bush Hager” took place at St. Catherine’s School on Thursday, September 7. The public was invited to attend. Sponsors for the event were Dominion Energy, Altria and St. Catherine’s School.
Following an introduction by Susan Allen, former Virginia First Lady and Chair of the Virginia Capitol Foundation, Hager engaged in a lively discussion of the challenges that today’s women face in their efforts to balance the daunting demands of a busy career with a fulfilling personal life. Also, she shared insights about the female role models in her life, along with hopes and dreams for her own daughters, among other topics.
Download the Press Release for this Event.
The program was designed as a casual and fun Q&A conversation with Jenna Bush Hager. Kay Coles James, who served in the administrations of President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush and was Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources under Governor George Allen, served as moderator. Currently, James is President and Founder of the Gloucester Institute, a leadership training center for young African-Americans.
Proceeds from the event’s ticket sales will be allocated toward commissioning the life-size bronze sculpture of Adèle Goodman Clark. Clark is one of the 12 female figures selected for the Virginia Women’s Monument, representing women who made significant but often unrecognized contributions to shape the 400-year history of the Commonwealth. She was a founding member of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia, a founder of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a 1901 graduate of Virginia Randolph Ellett School, the predecessor of St. Catherine’s School.
“The Virginia Women’s Monument will inspire women for generations to come, and I’m delighted to do whatever I can to make it a reality,” said Hager. “As the daughter of an educator, I especially love how visitors to Capitol Square will learn about fascinating women who came from diverse backgrounds and from different centuries, including Adèle Goodman Clark. This is such an exciting initiative to engage audiences in the important role that women have played throughout Virginia history.”
Virginia Capitol Foundation, has been working steadily in raising funds for the Virginia Women’s Monument, when finished and unveiled in two or three years, is intended to be a thought-provoking and interactive experience as visitors walk among the 12 sculptures in an oval-shaped garden. Designed by Ivan Schwartz of StudioEIS, this monument will be the first of its kind in the United States.
In addition to the voices of the featured figures, a Wall of Honor will contain names and narratives about the struggles and accomplishments of many more women. This innovative monument will highlight Virginia women’s accomplishments across four centuries, and beyond.
The United States National Park Service (NPS) announced that is has approved a revised National Historic Landmark designation for Virginia’s Capitol. To more fully reflect the wide array of resources and their abiding national significance, the name and categorization of the Capitol property has been updated by NPS from “The Capitol of the Confederacy” to the “Virginia State Capitol.”
See the full Virginia General Assembly press release here.
Please read the articles from The Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch written about this new designation.
The nomination for the updated National Historic Landmark designation was prepared and submitted jointly by the Capitol Square Preservation Council and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Among the oldest in the nation, this 12-acre park is home to the National Historic Landmark Virginia State Capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson, the oldest purpose-built U.S executive mansion still serving as a governor’s residence, and many monuments and memorials. Walk winding paths in a landscape that has both seen and shaped American history.
Garden secret: This park has an empty crypt. The George Washington Equestrian Monument was to be the President’s final resting place, but he remains buried at his Mount Vernon home.
Learn more about the Richmond Garden Trail
The Virginia State Capitol, recently restored, and Poplar Forest, Jefferson’s rural retreat in Bedford County, are among 14 sites in the U.S. selected for inclusion on a new U.S. World Heritage Tentative List, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced earlier this year. Inclusion on the U.S. list is “the necessary first step” toward being considered for inscription on the United Nations World Heritage List, “the most prestigious international recognition accorded to properties of global importance,” Kempthorne said in his announcement.
On July 21, 2008, The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial was unveiled on Capitol Square. The Memorial is a privately financed, $2.6 million granite and bronze statue. It is the first statue on the grounds of the historic Capitol to include depictions of blacks and women in prominent roles.
The 18-figure sculpture called a “living memorial” by sculptor Stanley Bleifeld is meant to represent a key moment in the history of the civil-rights movement in Virginia. The new Memorial spotlights the African-American students in rural Prince Edward County whose 1951 walkout to protest their run-down school led to a lawsuit that was folded into the challenge that triggered the 1954 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court banning segregated public schools.
Among the figures on the Memorial is Oliver W. Hill, Sr. holding a rumpled legal brief aloft as he stands shoulder to shoulder with law partner Spottswood W. Robinson III. They took on the case of the Prince Edward County students who protested the shabby condition of their school. Barbara Johns was the one who called the school strike in 1951 and she is also featured. The student protests garnered support from the local community, benefiting from the moral leadership of the Rev. L. Francis Griffin, who is also a part of the memorial.