Civil-rights memorial dedicated at Capitol

Jim Nolan
Published: July 21, 2008

More than 4,000 people of all ages endured sweltering summer heat to commemorate the bravery of Virginia children who 50-plus years ago stood up for civil rights and were memorialized today in a stunning statue on Richmond’s Capitol Square.

The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial is the first statue on the grounds of the historic Capitol to include depictions of blacks and women in prominent roles.

In a 70-minute ceremony this morning, state officials, civil rights icons and a diverse gathering of Virginians celebrated the past and said there was hope for the future.

It’s not just about yesterday; it’s about today and tomorrow, said Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who pulled the gray veil off the monument with honorary memorial co-chair Blair Underwood.

The crowd included some 70 members of the family of Robert R. Moton High School student Barbara Johns, who led students out of the segregated Prince Edward County school on April 23, 1951, in protest of the deplorable conditions.

From now on, said Del Dwight C. Jones, D-Richmond, Virginians “will not get half of the story or part of the story, but the whole story. We have come this far by faith.”

Lisa Collis, wife of former Gov. Mark R. Warner, said the idea to have a statue commemorating civil rights on the Capitol grounds sprang from the query of her youngest daughter, Eliza, who asked one night back in 2002 why there were no statues commemorating Rosa Parks.

Sculptor Stanley Bleifeld said: “I did not want to make a statue. I wanted to make a living memorial.

“Young people . . . it’s their energy that infuses this work.”