Officials in Richmond broke ground today on a new Civil War Museum. The facility will feature exhibit halls and a theater. And while it’s been in the works for years, this weekend’s events in Charlottesville gave the effort a renewed sense of urgency.
Congressman Donald McEachin and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney were both on hand for the groundbreaking of the new American Civil War Museum. During all the speeches, including the Mayor’s, this weekend’s white supremacist rally and counter-protests in Charlottesville took center stage.
“In light of the events that we’ve seen and experienced over the last week, I think we all can understand we’ve had trouble coming to grips with our history,” said Stoney.
Four years ago, the American Civil War Center joined forces with the Museum of the Confederacy, creating a new organization called the American Civil War Museum.
Christy Coleman is CEO and she says the group’s mission is to tell the story of the Civil War from all perspectives.
“Including Union and Confederacy, enslaved and free,” Coleman says. “As well as civilians and soldiers and others that played an important role. And it’s the others too that we hadn’t given voice to before.”
And, Coleman says, that core message of multiple perspectives is needed now more than ever.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
