A statue depicting an African-American man with dreads riding a horse is now standing tall in Richmond, Virginia.
What We Know:
- A massive bronze sculpture of a young black man with dreadlocks astride a muscular horse was permanently installed Tuesday, December 10, 2019, in Virginia’s capital city, not far from one of the country’s most prominent displays of Confederate monuments.
- Thousands of people crowded the lawn of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as “Rumors of War” was unveiled. The piece is the first public sculpture by prominent artist Kehinde Wiley and his largest work to date. His work was previously on display in Times Square.
- It cost $2 million, and the museum spent about $600,000 to $700,000 more in expenses, including the cost of having the 30-ton piece shipped and installed.
- At the unveiling, Richmond’s mayor Levar Stoney said “See, Richmond, we have a complex history. We’ve got the good, the bad and the ugly. All right? But this monument firmly establishes that our city is not living in the past but embracing the future and the good.”
The city has been dealing with an ongoing debate about what do with Confederate imagery within the capital.
