Reconciliation Memorial (Richmond, Virginia)
Dublin Core
Title
Reconciliation Memorial (Richmond, Virginia)
Subject
Subject (Topic)
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery--Virginia
Transatlantic slave trade
Virginia--Richmond
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery--Virginia
Transatlantic slave trade
Virginia--Richmond
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Commemorative sculpture
Description
The bronze torsos of two abstracted figures, engaged in a tight embrace, emerge from a rectangular bronze base. This work includes the addition of bronze low-relief designs, reflecting images related to the slave trade, including a topographic map of the James River, birds following slave ships, chains with manacles, and a port with lifts pulling up cotton bales. The work was erected close to Richmond’s former slave market in Shockoe Bottom.
Creator
Broadbent, Stephen, 1961-
Source
Photographs by Rénee Ater
Date
March 31, 2007
Contributor
City of Richmond, Virginia; Faith Bebbington (sculptor); Garry Morris (curator, Liverpool Maritime Museum); Liverpool school students; Richmond, VIrginia, school students
Rights
Public Art Commission, City of Richmond, 900 East Broad Street, Room 511, Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Coverage
East Main Street and North 15th Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
Alternative Title
Reconciliation Triangle
Has Part
Inscription on side:
Reconnaissons et pardonnons le passé
Célébrons le présent
Construisons l'avenir dans
la réconciliation et la justice.
Acknowledge and forgive the past
Embrace the present
Shape a future of reconciliation and justice.
Reconnaissons et pardonnons le passé
Célébrons le présent
Construisons l'avenir dans
la réconciliation et la justice.
Acknowledge and forgive the past
Embrace the present
Shape a future of reconciliation and justice.
Information plaque:
The Triangle
Liverpool, England The Benin Region of West Africa Richmond, Virginia During the 18th Century, these three places reflected one of the well-known triangles in the trade of enslaved Africans. Men, women, and children were captured in West and Central Africa and transported from Benin and other countries. They were chained, herded, loaded on ships built in England and transported through the unspeakable horrors of the Middle Passage. They were imported and exported in Richmond, Virginia and sold in other American cities. Their forced labor laid the economic foundation of this nation."
The Triangle
Liverpool, England The Benin Region of West Africa Richmond, Virginia During the 18th Century, these three places reflected one of the well-known triangles in the trade of enslaved Africans. Men, women, and children were captured in West and Central Africa and transported from Benin and other countries. They were chained, herded, loaded on ships built in England and transported through the unspeakable horrors of the Middle Passage. They were imported and exported in Richmond, Virginia and sold in other American cities. Their forced labor laid the economic foundation of this nation."
Has Version
Extent
144 in. (365.76 cm)
Medium
Bronze
Bibliographic Citation
Broadbent, Stephen. "Reconciliation Triangle." Broadbent Studio. Accessed April 11, 2019. https://broadbent.studio/reconciliation-triangle-casestudy.
Hatch, John B. Race and Reconciliation: Redressing Wounds of Injustice. Lexington Books, 2008.
Rights Holder
Renée Ater
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Sculpture
Physical Dimensions
144 in. (365.76 cm)
Collection
Citation
Broadbent, Stephen, 1961-, “Reconciliation Memorial (Richmond, Virginia),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed October 1, 2026, https://mail.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1140.