Join us for a thoughtful conversation and musical reflection that asks:
What do the places we preserve, neglect, remove, and restore reveal about the state of our civic square?
From the reclamation of African American cemeteries to the removal of Confederate monuments, communities across the country are confronting the physical landscapes they have inherited and the policy decisions those landscapes represent. These efforts raise questions that extend far beyond what should happen to a particular monument or plot of land: Who and what do we choose to remember? Can changing our physical landscape become a catalyst for strengthening our civic life?
About The Event
Moderated by Shockoe Institute President and CEO Marland Buckner, the panel will feature Brian Palmer, a Peabody Award–winning journalist who has led efforts in Richmond to reclaim East End Cemetery; Dr. Adam Rosenblatt, author of Cemetery Citizens: Reclaiming the Past and Working for Justice in American Burial Grounds and director of the Center for Human Rights at Duke University; and Leyla McCalla, a Grammy Award–winning artist and founding artistic director of the Shockoe Institute.
Together, the panelists will consider how honoring the past can become an active form of civic repair—and a foundation for strengthening our collective future.