Solar phenomenon
Comedian, activist Dick Gregory dies at 84
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Richmond Free Press © 2017 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 26 NO. 34
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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AUGUST 24-26, 2017
Powerless over statues? Who really can remove the Confederate traitors from Monument Avenue? According to the City Charter, it may not be the mayor or City Council By Jeremy M. Lazarus
When it comes to the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue, Mayor Levar M. Stoney has been in the spotlight, along with members of Richmond City Council. But Mayor Stoney and City Council have less control over whether the statues stay or go than Rodney M. Poole and his eight appointed colleagues on the city Planning Commission. According to the City Charter, the Richmond Planning Commission holds the power when it comes to statues on public property — a fact almost unnoticed in the latest debate, particularly since the Aug. 12 violence in Charlottesville, where one person was killed and 19 others were injured by a white supremacist angry over plans to remove Confederate statues there. The language of the City Charter or constitution is clear. Section 17.05 reads: “It shall be the further duty and function of the commission to preserve historical landmarks and to control the design and location of statuary and other works of art which are or Mayor Stoney may become the property of the city, and the removal, relocation and alteration of any such work …” The Maggie L. Walker statue in Downtown is the most recent example of that authority. Plans for the Walker statue and plaza did not move forward until the Planning Commission — not City Council — approved the location and the design. Mr. Poole, a veteran attorney, is chairman of the Planning Commission, whose members include City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson and the city’s chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn. Please turn to A4
Where does City Council stand? The Free Press asked Richmond City Council members whether the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue should stay or go. From their responses, it does not appear that a majority support a nonbinding resolution calling for removal of the statues. Here are their responses: Council President Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District: “I believe that these statues belong in a museum not in the public square. They honor men who led an armed insurrection to protect their right to own other human beings. Further, the timing of the installation of these statues coincides with the implementation of segregation laws and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. That being said, I will not support any city funding to remove them. If all of the statues came down, would that educate one child, stop one crime, bring one person out of poverty or create one job? The removal of these statues is an easy and shortsighted way to say that we have addressed in a significant way the issue of race in our city. The real legacy of slavery and Jim Crow is wealth disparity, re-segregation of our schools, mass incarceration and poverty. Addressing these issues will have the most impact on Richmond today. If we are to spend time, energy and financial resources on the history of our city, it should be in creating a slavery museum to tell the whole story of Richmond’s role in domestic slave trading and to honor the millions of people who lived in slavery for almost 250 years. Councilman Andreas D. Addison, 1st District: No response. Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, 2nd District: “No resolution has been introduced. I am unable to comment on legislation I have not seen. It also is unclear whether City Council has Please turn to A4
Justin Ide/TPX Images of the Day/Reuters
Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy takes photos Wednesday as city workers shroud the statue of Confederate Stonewall Jackson with a black tarp. The council voted Tuesday to cover Confederate statues in Justice Park and Emancipation Park in memorial to Heather Heyer, who was killed Aug. 12 during a violent rally by white nationalists protesting the council’s planned removal of the statues.
Confederate statues go black in Charlottesville Free Press staff, wire report
Workers in Charlottesville draped giant black tarps over two statues of Confederate generals on Wednesday to symbolize the city’s mourning for Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old paralegal who was killed while protesting a white nationalist rally. The work began around 1 p.m. in Emancipation Park, where a towering monument of Robert E. Lee on horseback stands. Workers gathered around the monument with a large black covering. Some stood in cherry-pickers and others used ropes and poles to cover the statue as onlookers took photos and video. Some of the crowd cheered as the cover was put in place. The statue of Confederate Stonewall Jackson also was covered in Justice Park. The Charlottesville City Council voted to shroud the statues early Tuesday, at the end of a hours-long meeting packed with irate residents who screamed and cursed at council members over the city’s response to the Aug. 12 rally. The event, dubbed “Unite the Right,” is believed to be the largest gathering of white nationalists in a decade. Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, skinheads and members of various white nationalist factions clashed violently with counterprotesters in the street adjacent to Emancipation Park. The fighting went on largely uninterrupted by authorities until the event was declared an unlawful assembly and the crowd was forced to disperse. Later, a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators who were marching through downtown, killing Ms. Heyer and injuring more
than two dozen others. The man who police say was driving, James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Maumee, Ohio, has been charged with second degree murder in her death. Gov. Terry McAuliffe said last week that the Confederate statues have become “flashpoints for hatred, division and violence,” and he called on localities and the General Assembly to relocate Confederate monuments to museums and other appropriate places. Please turn to A4
$7.43M
That’s the surplus city reports By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Four months ago, top city administration financial officials told Richmond City Council to forget about a surplus. But for the second year in a row, there’s an August surprise. A new financial report shows the city tentatively finished the 2017 fiscal year on June 30 with a $7.43 million surplus, although it will take an Please turn to A5
Warehouse owner left with waste collected by CVWMA By Jeremy M. Lazarus
James Haskins/Richmond Free Press
Rodney T. Gaines, who is leading a petition drive to clean up the site, stands among a sea of TVs and computer monitors that fill Warehouse 25 at Clopton SiteWorks in South Side.
Warehouse 25 at Clopton SiteWorks on South Side is the best evidence that the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority has failed to keep its promise to properly dispose of old and broken TVs and computer monitors that are filled with toxic metals. For years, CVWMA has collected such items as the agency created by Richmond and other area governments to handle the recycling of paper, plastics and other materials. The company says on its website that the electronics would be “demanufactured for recycling.” People bringing TVs and computers are charged up to $20 to help cover the cost of recycling the equipment. CVWMA even boasts on its website that “over 5 million pounds of e-waste has been recycled through this program since 2006.” However, hundreds of boxes stuffed with used TVs and computer monitors fill the former tobacco warehouse at the small business center in South Side. The boxes stretch for yards, about half the size of a football field. It’s an all-too-familiar story heard across the country — companies that promise recycling of the items that are later found in warehouses, leaving the warehouse owners stuck with the material. Please turn to A4
James Haskins/Richmond Free Press
Down home groove Cairo Kelly, 2, dances to the music at the Down Home Family Reunion last Saturday at Abner Clay Park in Jackson Ward. This was the 27th year for the annual festival that seeks to demonstrate how African heritage has influenced the American South by sharing experiences and traditions through food, storytelling, music, art and a marketplace. Please see more photos on B2.