“Rumors of War” and Monument Avenue: Invitation
Statement on “Rumors of War” and Monument Avenue
Invitation to join us December 10th!
The Richmond Peace Education Center joins the community in celebrating the permanent installation of Kehinde Wiley’s sculpture “Rumors of War” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on December 10.
“Rumors of War” is Wiley’s response to the Confederate monuments and memorials that mark Richmond’s landscape. The sculpture depicts Najee Wilson sitting astride a massive horse in a pose based on the Stuart Monument on Monument Avenue at Stuart Circle.
Even as we welcome and celebrate, we at the same time call for our leaders to take immediate action on Monument Avenue. The arrival of Rumors of War does not substitute for the removal of the giant monuments to those who fought to preserve slavery that stand in the heart of our city.
We at the Peace Center celebrate the arrival of “Rumors of War”—and simultaneously urge city and state leaders to take decisive action to give Richmond authority to remove monuments.
Please join us (those who can given that it’s a workday) outside the VMFA along Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond on December 10 at 3:30 p.m…to have a respectful but visible presence at the celebration.
We also invite you to stop by the RPEC office that day anytime between noon and 3pm to make signs (3500 Patterson Avenue)!
Contact Elected Leaders
Please contact Richmond’s City Council to urge them to pass a resolution asking the General Assembly for the authority to remove the monuments.
Urge Governor Northam, and your Delegates and Senators, to make monument removal a legislative priority in 2020.
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Since 2017’s violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville the national conversation on confederate symbols has evolved rapidly. More than 25 cities have removed or relocated confederate monuments. More and more public officials, including our own Governor, have endorsed removal. Richmond needs to be at the forefront of that evolving national conversation, and a model for the country.
The monuments as they stand represent a form of cultural violence. They can’t talk, but they still communicate a message. They signal to our citizens, and they signal to our city’s children, that their city still honors those who fought to enslave their ancestors.
We see this transformation of Monument Avenue as part of the larger transformation of our city, including the full commemoration of Shockoe Bottom, to transform Richmond from the Capital of the Confederacy to the Capital of racial equity.
Questions? Contact Seema Sked (seema@rpec.org, 804 232-1002)