Richmond officials and architects gathered Monday afternoon at Ancarrow’s Landing to celebrate and update the public on the latest developments in the multi-million-dollar Shockoe Project.

About a dozen people attended the event, located near the James River at the start of the Richmond Slave Trail.

The cold weather was countered by a friendly atmosphere as speakers shared the latest on the project, which aims to recognize the history of enslaved and free Africans and create a destination highlighting Richmond’s complex role in American history.

“Today we celebrate growth, we celebrate progress, and we celebrate hope,” Mayor Levar M. Stoney said. “We are choosing to move forward by telling Shockoe’s complete story andhonoring and memorializing the lives of enslaved Africans.”

 Stoney
 

The event marked the first stop of Stoney’s 30-day “Richmond’s Faring Well Tour,” celebrating his administration’s accomplishments over eight years while recognizing the progress and importance of the project.

Stoney is the third Richmond mayor to help shepherd the Shockoe Project, which formally launched in 2022 but traces back to 2006 with an archeological investigation of the site of the former Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, according to a timeline on the Project’s website.

The jail is expected to be one of many components of the completed project, alongside the creation or improvement of other sites such as the African Burial Ground, the National Slavery Museum, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground and the Winfree Cottage.

With the end of his term as mayor approaching and a campaign for lieutenant governor on the horizon, Stoney promised to “continue to advocate for this project, hopefully at the state level.”

“It was incredibly important to us and to those of the Shockoe Project to be part of this tour,” Stoney said, “because much has happened over the course of the last eight years that needs to be remembered, celebrated and continued.”

For Burt Pinnock, principal architect at the design firm Baskervill, which is developing the project’s master plan, the event provided an opportunity to reveal new details. These include a life-size replica of a slave ship and a 12-foot bronze sculpture placed along the James River to mark the site where enslaved people arrived.

 Pinnock
 

The ship will include amphitheater seating and a granite stone memorial, while the sculpture will be built by New York-based artist Tanda Francis. These additions represent the latest insight into how the Shockoe Project will tackle the history of Richmond’s part in the slave trade.

“I’m incredibly proud to be able to work alongside all these people who have been at this for decades, for generations, to bring all of this story to life,” Pinnock said.

For House Delegate Delores McQuinn, a long-time advocate for the Shockoe Project at the state level, the project was a testament to perseverance and commitment. She highlighted the nearly 25 years of efforts to keep the project moving forward through the terms of multiple mayors, city managers and city councils.

This perseverance was necessary, she said, to memorialize those “who were often trapped in a system without a voice or without freedom to speak for themselves,” and provide a way for generations to understand the past.

“It’s not just history-telling, but it’s also about reconciliation,” McQuinn said. “How do we move beyond history to reconciling and making certain we are walking together?”

Stoney and McQuinn called on Mayor-elect Danny Avula to continue the city’s support of the Shockoe Project. The local community was also encouraged by speakers to join the project and contribute to its progress.

The Shockoe Project is still under development, with its master plan featuring a timeline of proposals and designs over more than a decade and a completion goal set for 2037 to coincide with Richmond’s 300th birthday. One of the project’s developments, the Shockoe Institute, is set to be completed next year.