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.

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You Are Paying For This

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On This Site Slaves Were Bought and Sold.

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Produce, Horses, and Humans


We Call it Liberation Day.

The Surrender of Charlottesville - March 3rd, 1865.

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You Don’t Read That on Any of the Plaques

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.

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Removal From Public Spaces


Re-Establishing White Supremacy.

The Post-Reconstruction Years, 1877-1890s.

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.

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90% of Black Men are Effectively Disenfranchised

Guys in Orange Jumpsuits Running Around Doing the Yard Work

Out of Mourning and Into the Public Sphere

Albermarle County Levied a Special Tax for This

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.

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The ‘You Will Not Replace Us’ of 1909

The Language of Bodies in Space


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 We Have to Look at This in Context.

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This Used to Be a Mixed-Race Neighborhood

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

This Was a Center of Eugenist Thought

Promoting the Lost Cause Narrative

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.

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Cutting off Black Access to Political Participation

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

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

A Gloss of Civility


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

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: