The architecture firm responsible for the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C. has been brought on board to lead another historical project, this time here in Virginia.
It was a who’s who of state and city leaders in Richmond Monday as the community came together at Lumpkin’s Slave Jail. 200 years ago this site, now tucked between a highway and a parking lot downtown, was the epicenter of the country’s slave trade.
The city has struggled for years in figuring out how best to memorialize those who lived and died here. And now Richmond’s Slave Trail Commission says they’re ready to hire a vendor and make concrete plans. They've decided to hire SmithGroupJJR, the architecture group behind the latest Smithsonian museum.
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Delegate Dolores McQuinn, a Democrat from Richmond, says this has been years in the making.
“You know you dream, you pray, you seek direction, input, help, and it’s just phenomenal to be at this place now," said McQuinn.
Attempts to memorialize the site have come from across the city, including a huge grassroots effort that has run parallel to the city's institutional efforts -- sometimes on diverging paths.
Ana Edwards has been a leader in that community effort. She stood in the back throughout Monday's ceremony. She said anyone who expects community advocates to be combative about the city's plans, which they have criticized for not including the nearby African burial ground, misunderstands their goals.
"This is a very good first step, and it is a logical first step," Edwards said. "Our primary goal is that they protect the rest of the footprint, so that it will be there when the funds are available for that development to take place."
It has yet to be determined if the site will be home to a memorial, a museum, or some combination of the two.
