The Washington Post - USA (2020-12-11)

B10 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 , 2020

than 200 households along the

avenue and found that all but a

handful support removing the

statues. “The future should em-

brace a residential neighborhood

that welcomes everyone,” she

said.

Patrick McSweeney, a lawyer

representing the small group

blocking the statue’s removal, did

not respond to a request for com-

ment.

The Monument Avenue project

is among four budget items

Northam planned to announce

Friday at 1 p .m. aimed at reckon-

ing with the state’s troubled racial

histor y.

The largest is $10 million for

the city of Richmond to jump-

start a plan for memorializing

what was once the nation’s sec-

ond-largest slave market in a

downtown area known as Shock-

oe Bottom, including the remains

of the notorious Lumpkin’s Jail

where many enslaved Africans

were held.

Stoney has also pledged from

$25 million to $50 million in capi-

tal improvement funding toward

that effort, though the city has not

finalized any plans.

Northam is proposing another

$5 million for a project in King

George County, near the town of

Dahlgren, where scores of dis-

carded headstones from a historic

Black cemetery in the District

have been found. The money

woul d cover the removal of as

many headstones as possible from

riprap along the Potomac River

and transporting them to Nation-

al Harmony Memorial Park in

Landover, Md., as well as con-

structing a memorial on the

shoreline where they were discov-

ered.

Columbian Harmony Cem-

etery had been the resting place

for thousands of D.C.’s most prom-

inent Black residents from before

the Civil War until 1960, when a

developer bought the land and

relocated the burials. Mercer said

the state is also seeking contribu-

tions for the memorial project

from other entities, including the

Washington Football Team,

whose FedEx Field stadium looms

over the National Harmony cem-

etery.

Northam is also seeking

$100,000 for site work at a p ro-

posed memorial to Martin Luther

King Jr. in downtown Richmond.

[email protected]

and creativity.”

Nyerges said his staff members

will begin reaching out to art

experts, historians, urban plan-

ners and others to guide their

approach to the avenue as a

whole. The museum has already

put itself on the map in the world

of reinterpreting monuments: A

year ago this month, it unveiled

“Rumors of War,” a statue of a

young Black man astride a horse

in the manner of a Confederate

war memorial that drew wide-

spread attention.

It was created by artist Kehinde

Wiley, and Nyerges noted that the

curators who worked on that proj-

ect will also lead the Monument

Avenue effort.

Local residents have already

brainstormed everything from

fountains to gardens to rotating

works of art for the Lee circle.

“The neighbors know that it’s

not going to happen quickly, and

it needs to be done with a lot of

thought,” said Alice Massie, whose

home sits directly across the

street.

Massie said a neighborhood

group recently surveyed more

tents are known to include a h ost

of Confederate-related memora-

bilia — a nd, just possibly, a rare

image of President Abraham Lin-

coln in his casket — b ut Northam’s

office plans to remove it early next

year.

The Valentine museum, which

commemorates Richmond his-

tory, and the city’s Black History

Museum have begun assembling

a community effort to come up

with items for a new time capsule

to be installed at the site.

“The intent is to create some-

thing that reflects this moment in

histor y,” said William J. Martin,

director of the Valentine. He said

the group hopes to have a more

culturally inclusive time capsule

ready by Juneteenth — the newly

official state holiday that honors

the end of slavery.

That doesn’t necessarily mean

the stone pedestal of the Lee stat-

ue will remain, said Nyerges of the

VMFA. “It’s a p retty powerful

statement as it is,” he said. “But I

don’t want to presuppose any-

thing for this effort because I

think it’s going to take a lot of very

intense thought, soul-searching

Lee property back to the city, and

Mercer said that will be explored.

In the meantime, he said, “we owe

a hand in helping figure out what

happens with the avenue and

quite frankly we also owe money

to help.”

Stoney said he was grateful for

the state’s role. “When I began

2020 I never, ever thought that the

monuments would be removed

from their pedestals and that the

Lee monument would be re-

claimed for good,” he said.

Having long said he favored

taking down the statues, Stoney —

who is Black — said he marveled

at the way protesters have trans-

formed the Lee monument.

“It just shows you what we can

create as a community,” he said.

“The art that you see on that

granite is the work of spirited

people who experienced not only

the summer of 2020, but just

channeling the injustices they

may have faced in their lives.”

One part of the Lee project

slated to get underway immedi-

ately involves replacing a time

capsule that was laid into the

granite pedestal in 1887. The con-

While the Lee removal was held

up by courts, four other Confeder-

ate statues on city property along

Monument Avenue have already

come down. Protesters toppled a

figure of Confederate President

Jefferson Davis, and Richmond

Mayor Levar Ston ey ordered work

crews to take down the remaining

three.

Northam’s proposal, then, is to

reimagine the entire avenue,

which is a grand residential prom-

enade lined with architecturally

significant homes dating back

about a c entury.

The plan carries an initial price

tag of $750,000 that the General

Assembly would have to approve

at its session that be gins in Janu-

ary. The state is also approaching

possible donors, Mercer said, in-

cluding the Andrew W. Mellon

Foundation, which has pledged to

spend a q uarter-billion dollars

helping localities reframe their

historical monuments dealing

with issues of race. The Mellon

family is also a m ajor benefactor

of the VMFA.

Some in Richmond have raised

the idea of Virginia deeding the

symbol of the old segregated
South, the Lee statue has been
reborn through this year’s erup-
tion of public demonstrations
over issues of race, trig gered by
the deaths of George Floyd in
Minnesota and other unarmed Af-
rican Americans around the coun-
try at the hands of law enforce-
ment.
Weeks of protest left Lee and its
40-foot-high stone base bedecked
with a riot of colorful graf fiti. The
pristine, grassy circle around it
transformed into an open-air civ-
ics forum, with gospel choirs, dai-
ly speeches, voter registration
boot hs and a public vegetable gar-
den. At night, more sinister el-
ements crept in, leading to armed
confrontations between Black
protesters and White counterpro-
testers and complaints of heavy-
handed police tactics.
By year’s end, photos of the
altered monument — often fea-
turing projected images of Floyd
or Black Lives Matter messages —
had appeared in media worldwide
as a symbol of the social justice
movement. National Geographic
magazine is featuring it on its
cover for January, and in October
the New York Times Magazine
dubbed the monument the na-
tion’s most influential work of
protest art.
Aware of that status, Northam’s
office still plans to take down the
metal statue — though the fate of
its stone plinth is an open ques-
tion.
“Everything is on the table,”
said Clark Mercer, Northam’s
chief of staff, who has spearhead-
ed the planning effort. “We want
to be as bold and creative as possi-
ble and bring to bear the greatest
minds, literally internationally.”
Northam announced on June 4
that he was ordering the removal
of the monument, which occupies
land deeded to the state in 1889. A
small group of local residents filed
suit to save the statue. In October,
a circuit judge ruled in favor of
Northam, but the removal is still
on hold as the residents appeal to
the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Even with a favorable ruling,
Mercer said it’s likely to be several
weeks or months into next year
before the enormous statue could
come down. And the planning for
what comes next will take far
longer.

STATUE FROM B1

Statue transformed into a s ymbol of social justice protests

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST

Brian Wells and his wife Crystal Wells protest on June 13 in Richmond near the s tatue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Weeks of

protest this summer left the monument covered in c olorful graffiti, with photos of its altered state appearing in media worldwide.

AVERAGE RECORD ACTUAL FORECAST

PREVIOUS YEAR NORMAL LATEST

<–10–0s 0s 10s20s 30s 40s50s 60s 70s80s 90s 100s 110+

T-storms Showers Snow Flurries IceRain Cold Front Warm FrontStationary Front

NATIONAL Today Tomorrow

High

Low

Normal

Record high

Record low

Reagan Dulles BWI

Reagan Dulles BWI

Today’s tides (High tides in Bold)

WORLD Today Tomorrow

Sources: AccuWeather.com; US Army Centralized

Allergen Extract Lab (pollen data); airnow.gov (air

quality data); National Weather Service

* AccuWeather's RealFeel Temperature®

combines over a dozen factors for an accurate

measure of how the conditions really “feel.”

Key: s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, r-rain,

sh- showers, t-thunderstorms, sf-snow flurries,

sn-snow, i-ice

Solar systemMoon Phases

NATION

OFFICIAL RECORD

Rise Set

REGION

Past 24 hours

Total this month

Normal

Total this year

Normal

Richmond

Norfolk

Ocean City

Annapolis

Dover

Cape May

Baltimore

Charlottesville

Lexington

Washington

Virg inia Beach

Kitty Hawk

Harrisburg Philadelphia

Hagerstown

Davis

OCEAN:

OCEAN:

OCEAN:

OCEAN:

Temperatures

Precipitation

for the 48 contiguous states excludes Antarctica

Yesterday's National

Snow, past 24 hours

Snow, season total

51° 3:00 p.m.

32° 4:00 a.m.

48°/34°

67° 1966

4° 18 76

54° 1:08 p.m.

24° 6:25 a.m.

47°/28°

70° 1966

4° 1989

53° 3:00 p.m.

27° 7:12 a.m.

47°/29°

72° 1966

1° 18 76

Washington 4:29 a.m. 11:19 a.m. 4:53 p.m. none
Annapolis 1:19 a.m. 7:46 a.m. 2:29 p.m. 8:44 p.m.
Ocean City 4:05 a.m. 10:27 a.m. 4:23 p.m. 10:36 p.m.
Norfolk 6:08 a.m. 12:29 p.m. 6:29 p.m. none
Point Lookout 3:40 a.m. 10:18 a.m. 5:06 p.m. 10:11 p.m.

59

°

48 ° 60

°

51 ° 62

°

42 ° 47

°

32 ° 47

°

35 ° 44

°

34 °

Sun 7:17 a.m. 4:46 p.m.

Moon 3:28 a.m. 2:42 p.m.

Venus 5:13 a.m. 3:20 p.m.

Mars 1:30 p.m. 2:28 a.m.

Jupiter 9:55 a.m. 7:38 p.m.

Saturn 9:58 a.m. 7:44 p.m.

Dec 14

New

Dec 21

First

Quarter

Dec 29

Full

Jan 6

Last

Quarter

0.00"

1.26"

1.08"

53.64"

37.86"

0.0"

0.0"

0.00"

0.99"

1.09"

44.64"

39.76"

0.0"

Trace

0.00"

0.90"

1.18"

53.70"

39.79"

0.0"

0.0"

Blue Ridge: Today, mostly sunny. High 50–54. Wind
southwest 4–8 mph. Tonight, partly cloudy. Low 34–43.
Wind south 4–8 mph. Saturday, mostly cloudy, shower. High
49–53. Wind southwest 7–14 mph. Sunday, partly sunny.
High 45–49. Wind west 7–14 mph.

Atlantic beaches: Today, partly sunny. High 56–65. Wind
south 7–14 mph. Tonight, partly cloudy, showers. Low 49–

55. Wind south 6–12 mph. Saturday, cloudy, morning rain.
    High 60–66. Wind south 7–14 mph. Sunday, decreasingly
    cloudy, early shower. High 57–66.

Pollen: Low

Grass Low

Trees Low

Weeds Low

Mold Low

UV: Low

2 out of 11+

Air Quality: Moderate

Dominant cause: Particulates

62/48

65/55

57/49

56/47

58/49

57/51

59/45

62/45

55/43

65/54

65/55

56/40 57/45

55/41

64/39 59/48

48°

53°

51°

57°

Waterways: Upper P otomac River: Today, partly sunny. Wind south
5–10 knots. Waves around a foot. Visibility unrestricted. • Lower
Poto mac and Chesapeake Bay: Today, partly sunny. Wind south
7–14 knots. Waves around a foot on the lower Potomac and on the
Chesapeake.• River Stages: The stage at Little Falls will be around
3.90 feet today, falling to 3.80 Saturday. Flood stage at Little Falls
is 10 feet.

Albany, NY 42/31/pc 43/38/c

Albuq uerque 48/25/pc 46/25/pc

Anchorage 14/7/pc 16/12/pc

Atlanta 67/49/s 65/51/sh

Aust in 76/46/r 68/43/s

Baltimore 59/45/pc 60/50/c

Billings, MT 33/23/i 33/20/sn

Birmingham 65/56/pc 64/41/t

Bismarck, ND 34/16/c 33/16/c

Boise 39/25/pc 39/28/c

Boston 49/38/pc 48/44/r

Buffalo 50/41/pc 51/44/r

Burlington, VT 42/34/c 40/38/r

Charleston, SC 71/49/s 71/55/c

Charleston, WV 65/46/s 60/46/r

Charlotte 64/44/s 65/52/c

Cheyenne, WY 26/14/sn 28/13/sf

Chicago 44/40/r 41/28/r

Cincinnati 60/50/pc 56/39/r

Cleveland 54/45/pc 52/38/r

Dallas 72/41/r 58/41/s

Denver 30/15/sn 32/13/sn

Des Moines 38/29/r 35/19/sn

Detroit 47/40/pc 52/34/r

El Paso 61/37/s 59/39/s

Fairbanks, AK –13/–16/pc –7/–13/pc

Fargo, ND 32/15/c 31/13/pc

Hartford, CT 50/34/pc 46/42/sh

Honolulu 85/74/pc 85/72/pc

Houston 73/58/t 68/49/pc

Indianapolis 58/50/pc 55/34/r

Jackson, MS 69/56/pc 68/39/c

Jacksonville, FL 70/48/s 73/57/c

Ka nsas City, MO 45/33/r 38/24/sn

Las Vegas 57/37/s 59/37/pc

Little Rock 62/44/r 53/36/pc

Los Angeles 60/47/s 67/52/s

Louisville 65/55/pc 61/40/r

Memphis 66/54/pc 58/38/pc

Miami 75/69/pc 79/68/pc

Milwaukee 44/38/r 39/26/sn

Minneapolis 36/26/c 33/20/c

Nashville 67/56/pc 66/39/r

New Orleans 73/64/pc 73/55/t

New York City 53/46/pc 55/51/r

Norfolk 65/55/pc 66/54/c

Oklahoma City 49/31/c 47/31/c

Omaha 37/27/r 35/16/sn

Orlando 71/56/pc 79/61/pc

Philadelphia 57/45/pc 58/52/c

Phoenix 64/47/s 66/48/s

Pittsburgh 57/42/pc 56/43/r

Portland, ME 42/30/pc 41/35/r

Portland, OR 44/34/r 45/40/c

Providence, RI 52/39/pc 52/48/r

Raleigh, NC 64/46/s 65/53/c

Reno, NV 48/39/c 51/34/c

Richmond 62/48/s 64/53/c

Sacramento 57/45/pc 57/47/r

St. Louis 57/48/r 49/32/r

St. Thomas, VI 84/75/pc 84/75/sh

Salt Lake City 37/26/sf 36/17/sf

San Diego 63/47/pc 66/47/s

San Francisco 57/50/pc 59/51/r

San Juan, PR 83/74/pc 83/74/sh

Seattle 45/34/r 45/40/c

Spokane, WA 33/24/sn 32/26/c

Syracuse 51/36/pc 47/43/c

Tampa 73/58/s 77/63/pc

Wichita 42/32/r 41/28/c

Addis Ababa 75/45/pc 75/44/c

Amster dam 41/39/sh 46/41/sh

Athens 62/57/r 64/56/sh

Auckland 69/57/c 66/57/pc

Baghdad 67/43/pc 67/47/pc

Bangkok 91/76/pc 92/78/pc

Beijing 43/22/pc 42/20/pc

Berlin 36/32/c 39/30/c

Bogota 68/47/r 68/46/sh

Brussels 44/43/r 48/39/sh

Buenos Aires 82/66/sh 85/66/s

Cairo 79/58/c 79/65/pc

Caracas 82/67/pc 82/68/sh

Copenhagen 39/37/r 41/39/c

Dakar 84/74/pc 84/74/pc

Dublin 48/37/sh 45/37/pc

Edinburgh 46/38/sh 46/36/sh

Frankfurt 38/36/c 42/38/sh

Geneva 41/39/r 42/38/r

Ham., Bermuda 69/65/pc 72/68/pc

Helsinki 34/32/sn 36/25/sh

Ho Chi Minh City 89/76/t 88/75/t

Hong Kong 74/66/pc 73/66/pc

Islamabad 63/45/r 59/43/pc

Istanbul 61/51/pc 60/52/c

Jerusalem 63/50/s 63/54/pc

Johannesburg 84/60/t 81/58/t

Kabul 44/22/c 47/17/s

Kingston, Jam. 85/76/pc 87/75/pc

Kolkata 79/59/pc 80/61/pc

Lagos 89/76/pc 88/76/pc

Lima 75/66/c 75/66/pc

Lisbon 63/60/sh 64/57/c

London 51/44/c 47/36/c

Madrid 55/43/sh 56/39/c

Manila 86/76/c 86/76/pc

Mexico City 74/52/pc 75/50/pc

Montreal 40/31/c 34/33/sn

Moscow 28/15/pc 22/16/pc

Mumbai 89/75/c 89/74/c

Nairobi 79/57/pc 80/57/pc

New Delhi 80/57/pc 73/51/pc

Oslo 31/28/sn 33/29/sf

Ottawa 40/30/c 35/31/sn

Paris 51/45/r 50/38/sh

Prague 39/33/c 37/34/c

Rio de Janeiro 82/75/t 84/76/sh

Riyadh 67/50/s 69/49/s

Rome 55/41/c 53/41/sh

San Salvador 85/63/t 85/65/s

Santiago 84/52/s 87/54/s

Sarajevo 43/31/c 43/35/c

Seoul 49/27/pc 43/26/s

Shanghai 54/43/c 56/42/pc

Singapore 88/77/sh 85/78/t

Stockholm 38/37/r 41/37/sh

Sydney 68/55/c 72/58/pc

Taipei City 72/64/sh 70/63/r

Tehran 44/30/s 45/32/pc

Tokyo 57/49/pc 58/47/c

Toronto 46/37/c 42/39/r

Vienna 38/36/c 38/35/c

Warsaw 38/36/c 40/35/c

Today

Partly sunny,

mild

Saturday

Mainly cloudy,

mild

Sunday

A.M. shower

Monday

Partly sunny,

cooler

Tuesday

Partly sunny

Wednesday

Cloudy, rain

possible

Su M Tu W Th F Sa Su M Tu W Th F Sa Su

Statistics through 5 p.m. Thursday

Difference from 30–yr. avg. (Reagan): this month: –0.2° yr. to date: +2.4°

High: Zapata, TX 85°

Low: Jackson, WY –5°

World

High: Julia Creek, Australia 108°

Low: Oymyakon, Russia –65°

Weather map features for noon today.

WIND:SSW 7–14 mph

HUMIDITY:Moderate

CHNCE PRECIP:0%

FEELS*:56°

W:

H:

P:

FEELS:58°

S 7–14 mph

Moderate

25%

W:

H:

P:

FEELS:60°

WSW 7–14 mph

Moderate

30%

W:

H:

P:

FEELS:43°

NNW 8–16 mph

Moderate

20%

W:

H:

P:

FEELS:43°

NE 6–12 mph

Moderate

0%

W:

H:

P:

FEELS:37°

NNE 7–14 mph

Moderate

40%

Sunny again

After any morning cloudiness, sunny
weather continues Friday, perhaps
with some h aze again. Temperatures
should bump up a bit, with highs
mainly in the mid- and upper 50s —
closing in on 10 degrees above normal. Winds
should be light from the south and southwest.

The Weather

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