I was both saddened and angry by the headline and article regarding the planned Maggie Walker statue. The city is willing to spend $600,000 on this site, which is now the designated “gateway to Jackson Ward,” which I had assumed was North Belvidere Street.

I found the rhetoric used by Gary Flowers insulting to the intelligence of all residents of Jackson Ward and Richmond.

The city, instead, should invest time and money on CCTV security cameras in the dangerous blocks between North Adams Street and the Greater Richmond Convention Center, which are isolated at night.

Perhaps the city needs to start addressing how Jackson Ward is deteriorating from the neglect by the city in enforcing the minimum, bare basic city codes on the books regarding garbage and the recycling bins that have littered the sidewalks since August, turning a historic neighborhood into a wasteland of street refuse. Or the 6-foot hole on West Clay Street in front of Abner Clay Park, which is three years in the making.

How about the health hazards caused by blocked drains that have made the neighborhood a rat block party? Think about what the failing inner-city schools could do with that $600,000. Just a bit of that money would do wonders for after-school programs, summer jobs and inner-city athletics.

I have the greatest respect for the legacy of Mrs. Walker, but you can count me out on this token gesture by the city that ignores the real ills plaguing the neighborhood. I’m afraid I don’t have time to memorialize Mrs. Walker. I’m too busy memorializing our late son, Jett Higham, who was murdered in a robbery around the corner from the new Maggie Walker plaza on Marshall Street.   

TONI-LESLIE JAMES

Richmond