by LaVerne Washington
Anti-Slavery Monument planned for the location where the statue of Robert E. Lee currently sits.
After some opposition, a commission has voted to include Nat Turner, the leader of what has been called the deadliest slave uprising in U.S. History, to be included in its
Monument to Anti-Slavery. The Anti-Slavery Monument has emerged in Richmond, Virginia as the debate over removing Confederate monuments across the U.S. continues. Also a question being asked across the U.S, “Where are the monuments that are dedicated to the pain of slavery?” Richmond will now be the site of one of the first. The decision to include Turner was made by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. It was created in 1992 to honor the memory and legacy of Dr. King.
A statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee which currently sits in the location, will be removed and replaced with the Anti-Slavery Monument. A grant in the amount of $80,000 is being provided for the removal.
Others who will be included in the monument, include:
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John Mercer Langston, an abolitionist, attorney, educator, activist, diplomat, and politician; first dean of the law school at Howard University; 1941, Langston University is named in his honor. Langston, OK.
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Mary Elizabeth Bowser, A slave and Union Spy During the Civil War
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Dred Scott, a slave who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom in 1847.
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William Harvey Carney, for his act of heroism at Fort Wagner in 1863, awarded the highest military honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He was the first African American to receive the award.
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Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, a pastor, civil rights leader, theologian and historian. Chief of staff for Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., board member of the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
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Lucy F. Simms, a pioneering African American Educator, born a slave in 1855.
-Rosa Dixon Bowser and John Mitchell Jr., newspaper editor and crusaders for racial injustice
The Virginia General Assembly will provide $500,000 in funding, but the project is expected to total about $800,000. The Statue will be erected in Downtown Richmond and is scheduled to be unveiled in 2019.