Granite Fragments from
base of Robert E. Lee monument
Richmond, Virginia

Granite fragments (installation)
Photo by Frederik Nilsen
Filed Under:
Fragments from Robert E. Lee monument base, Richmond, Virginia
Sponsor: Lee Monument Association and Ladies Lee Monument Association
Dedicated: 1890
Removed: 2022
The bronze statues of Confederate generals and white supremacists that dot the Lost Cause commemorative landscape are larger than life and weigh several tons, but their physical weight pales in comparison to that of the granite bases that elevate them. Their ideological weight resides in not only who or what they depict but also their material, size, and sense of permanence. Monument bases range from simple plinths to multitiered structures that are architectural in scope and bearing.
In its Whose Heritage? project tracking the status of Confederate symbols in public space, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) considers a monument active unless all components, including bases, benches, fountains, and columns, have been removed. In that regard, the bases are as forceful a reminder as the statues they once supported, whose absence speaks volumes. Some of the bases that remain installed in public space continue to be used as meeting spaces and sites of artistic intervention.
MONUMENTS features a selection of granite pieces that were part of the Robert E. Lee monument base in Richmond, Virginia. The Lee monument, unveiled in 1890, was the first to be installed on Monument Avenue, which was then on the outskirts of the city but became a main thoroughfare and home to numerous other Lost Cause commemorations. The gargantuan stone pedestal stood over 40 feet high and cost $41,500 ($1.6 million in 2024), as compared to $18,000 for the bronze elements ( $730,000 in 2024).
During the summer of 2020, the site of the Lee monument was locally dubbed Marcus-David Peters Circle in honor of an unarmed Black man who was killed by police in 2018. By day, it was a space for the local community to gather and organize; at night, it became a scene of police violence against protesters who demanded racial justice and, ironically, an end to police brutality. The monument’s base served as a canvas for the public to share messages of hope, care, anger, and grief, the brightly colored spray paint standing in stark contrast to the drab gray granite. Despite efforts to clean it, the base became a palimpsest with new paint added daily, the remnants of previous messages still visible beneath. In September 2021, after months of continuous protest, the bronze portions of the Lee monument were removed. Some Richmond residents spoke in favor of keeping the graffitied base in situ so that it could continue to act as a public gathering space and be repurposed for a new, more inclusive monument, but it was dismantled in February 2022.
As one of the harder stones used in carving, granite signifies eternity. The Lee base fragments, now spread over the grounds of Richmond’s wastewater treatment plant, recall the archaeological ruins of a structure meant to span generations, to remain in place in perpetuity. The fragments on view in MONUMENTS constitute a record of the activist campaign to nullify Lost Cause monuments and render that intended permanence impermanent. The graffiti on these chunks of stone make visible a public dialogue with the objects once attached to them.
John Mitchell, editor of the Richmond Planet, which served the city’s African American community from 1883 to 1938, observed of the Black labor necessary to build the Lee monument: “He put up the Lee Monument, and should the time come, will be there to take it down” (June 7, 1890). Mitchell was prophetic: Team Henry Enterprises, a Black-owned company, dismantled the Lee monument and dozens of others across Virginia.
Granite fragment from base of Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, Virginia
, 1890 with graffiti from 2020
Granite, spray paint
12 x 100 x 7 1/2 in. (30.5 x 254 x 19.1 cm)(front)
19 x 107 x 23 in. (48.3 x 271.8 x 58.4 cm) (back)
Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
Granite fragments from base of Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, Virginia
, 1890 with graffiti from 2020
Granite, spray paint
18 x 111.5.x 22 in (45.7 x 283.2 x 55.9 cm)(front)
19 x 107 x 23 1/2 in. (48.3 x 271.8 x 59.7 cm)(back)
Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia







































































































































































































































































































































































