City of Richmond moves forward with memorial at Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The City of Richmond is moving forward with plans for a memorial to the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground and plans for Reconciliation Plaza improvements.

In a meeting on Monday, Nov. 3, the City of Richmond's Planning Commission advanced two components of "The Shockoe Project," approving the conceptual plans for a memorial to the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground and the final design for improvements to Reconciliation Plaza.

Earlier in November, the Urban Design Committee reviewed both projects and recommended approval to the Planning Commission, which was completed.

“With each step, we move closer to creating spaces that acknowledge the full truth of Richmond’s history and invite meaningful reflection,” said Leo Mantey, City of Richmond General Manager, The Shockoe Project. “These actions mark an important milestone in that journey.”

The city said the memorial will honor Richmond’s first municipal burying ground for free and enslaved people of color -- Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground. It is the final resting place of an unknown number of Richmonders and was active from the late 1700s to the early 1800s,

The accepted conceptual design for the memorial will return for final review in 2026.

The city added that Reconciliation Plaza, also part of "The Shockoe Project," is home to one of three identical Reconciliation Statues, symbolizing a "shared global commitment to honesty and forgiveness," which will be improved.

The other statues are reportedly located in Liverpool, U.K., and Cotonou, Republic of Benin, two cities that -- like Richmond -- played central roles in the transatlantic slave trade.