Marked by these Monuments
Marked by these Monuments

MARKED BY THESE MONUMENTS

 A tour of the Confederate Monuments of Downtown Charlottesville and the history and memory of the people who put them up. Led by Dr. Andrea Douglas and Dr. Jalane Schmidt.

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Charlottesville’s Confederate Monuments came down on a humid morning on July 10th, 2021.

We are honored to maintain this website as a testament to the historical research, activism, and time given to this cause by Dr. Jalane Schmidt, Dr. Andrea Douglas, Zyahna Bryant, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, the members of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces, and the countless community members, past and present, who have fought against racism and white supremacy in central Virginia.

Presented by WTJU 91.1 FM

Start. An Exercise in Amplifying Footnotes.

Dr. Andrea Douglas and Dr. Jalane Schmidt introduce themselves and discuss the difference between history and memory.

Start

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You Are Paying For This

the cost of maintaining confederate memory
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On This Site Slaves Were Bought and Sold.

The Slave Auction Block Marker
Corner of East Jefferson Street and Park Stret

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Produce, Horses, and Humans

market court days before the civil war

We Call it Liberation Day.

The Surrender of Charlottesville - March 3rd, 1865.

Surrender of Charlottesville
The Slave Auction Block Marker - Corner of East Jefferson Street and Park Stret

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You Don’t Read That on Any of the Plaques

the battle of waynesboro and skewering general early
Liberation and Freedom Day at the University of Virginia, 2017

Liberation and Freedom Day at the University of Virginia, 2017

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“Legislature of Virginia,” Library of Virginia, 1871-1872.

“Legislature of Virginia,” Library of Virginia, 1871-1872.

Putting Forth a Plan for their Own Citizenship.

The Reconstruction Years in Charlottesville, 1865-1877.

Reconstruction
The Johnny Reb Statue - Intersection of East Jefferson Street and 5th Street Northeast

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Removal From Public Spaces

the city beautiful movement

Re-Establishing White Supremacy.

The Post-Reconstruction Years, 1877-1890s.

Post-Reconstruction
The Johnny Reb Statue - Intersection of East Jefferson Street and 5th Street Northeast
The Johnny Reb Statue in front of the Albemarle County Circuit Courthouse in Downtown Charlottesville.

The Johnny Reb Statue in front of the Albemarle County Circuit Courthouse in Downtown Charlottesville.

He Was Left to Hang There.

The Lynching of John Henry James, 1898.

John Henry James
The Courthouse - Intersection of East Jefferson Street and 5th Street Northeast

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90% of Black Men are Effectively Disenfranchised

the virginia constitution of 1902
(this recording contains upsetting language)

Guys in Orange Jumpsuits Running Around Doing the Yard Work

vagrancy, white supremacy, and mass incarceration

Out of Mourning and Into the Public Sphere

confederate monuments migrate from cemeteries to court greens

Albermarle County Levied a Special Tax for This

how the monuments were funded
Marker to John Henry James at the The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

Marker to John Henry James at the The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

Soil collected from the site where John Henry James was murdered.

Soil collected from the site where John Henry James was murdered.

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 There are Thousands of Them.

Describing the Johnny Reb Statue, 1909.
The Johnny Reb Statue - Intersection of East Jefferson Street and 5th Street Northeast

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The ‘You Will Not Replace Us’ of 1909

learning from the installation speeches

The Language of Bodies in Space

the contrapposto pose and its art historical associations
BONUS: live from the removal of Johnny Reb September 12, 2020
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 We Have to Look at This in Context.

Memorialization, The United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Klu Klux Klan, 1921.
The Stonewall Jackson Statue - Between East Jefferson Street and East High Street

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This Used to Be a Mixed-Race Neighborhood

the destruction of mckee row

They Razed all the Buildings that were Black Owned and Set Up a Whites-Only Park

paul goodloe mcintire and the rise of segregation

This Was a Center of Eugenist Thought

the kkk in charlottesville and the anglo-saxon club

Promoting the Lost Cause Narrative

birth of a nation, confederate monuments, and the resurgence of the kkk in the 1920s
McKee Row, Holsinger Studio Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

McKee Row, Holsinger Studio Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.

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Statue of General Robert E. Lee shrouded following the white supremacist rally of August 2017.

Statue of General Robert E. Lee shrouded following the white supremacist rally of August 2017.

Charlottesville City Schools Students at the Racial Justice Walkout organized by Charlottesville High School’s Black Student Union.Ézé Amos, Charlottesville Tomorrow, March 26, 2019.

Charlottesville City Schools Students at the Racial Justice Walkout organized by Charlottesville High School’s Black Student Union.

Ézé Amos, Charlottesville Tomorrow, March 26, 2019.

Conclusion.

The Power of the Lost Cause Narrative.
The Robert E. Lee Statue - Intersection of East Jefferson Street and 2nd Street

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Cutting off Black Access to Political Participation

the republican party in virginia post-reconstruction

800 white women signed up to vote and only 124 black women

the poll tax and the 19th amendment

There is No Question that Slavery is the Cause of the War

looking at the primary documents

A Gloss of Civility

not really dealing with the underlying problems

Many thanks to Dr. Jalane Schmidt, Dr. Andrea Douglas, and the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center for their unwavering dedication to educating the public about this essential and difficult history we live with today.

If you are able, we encourage you to take the full tour - look out for the next one and other event announcements from the Jefferson School on their Facebook page.

Slave Auction Block Vigil: Honoring the Ancestors

Slave Auction Block Vigil
Dr. Jalane Schmidt and Community Activist Don Gathers with the JSAAHC

Listen to the voices of the people who were bought and sold here in Charlottesville and the mourning and reverence of their descendants. Recorded on March 1, 2020 as part of Charlottesville Liberation and Freedom Days 2020.

Further Reading: