CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLERIGHTNOW) – Several Virginia residents who have played prominent roles in social justice struggles in the state over the past several years including the removal of Confederate monuments took the stage at the 2024 SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas this week. Two of the panelists spoke with Charlottesville Right Now days before the event.
“Virginia has always been at the epicenter of questions of indigenous heritage and African-American heritage in both good ways and in tragic ways from the earliest encounters of European colonists and settlers with the indigenous tribes,” said attorney Greg Werkheiser, founding partner at the Richmond-based Cultural Heritage Partners law firm. He presented on a panel titled “The Battle to Honor Native and Black Cultural Heritage” with Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson, who has successfully fought to reclaim tribal land in Virginia. Devon Henry, whose company constructed the Memorial to Enslaved Workers at UVA and was also responsible for removing Confederate monuments in Richmond, rounded out the panel.
“We have seen a streak of notable victories in the preservation of native and black cultural heritage, and the panel is intended to try and extract from those victories, lessons that can be learned by other advocates around the country, around the world,” Werkheiser said.
In an interview with Charlottesville Right Now, Chief Anne detailed her successful efforts to reacquire 1,600 acres of riverfront land in Richmond County and her launch of the Indigenous Conservation Council of the Chesapeake Bay, comprised of the leadership of the seven federally recognized tribes here in Virginia.
“We are hoping to be able to matriculate land back to those tribes that are sacred to them, like burial grounds and places of spiritual significance to preserve for future generations of those tribes,” she said.
Henry described the challenge of removing the Confederate monuments along Monument Ave. in Richmond and discussed the process of constructing the Memorial at UVA and its significance to descendants of enslaved workers.
A separate SXSW panel titled “Equity and Power: A Renaissance of America’s Institutions” featured a presentation by James French, who founded the Montpelier Descendants Committee and led the successful fight for structural parity at James Madison’s ancestral home. He announced the launch of a new nonprofit that aims to change how organizations and institutions view and share power.
Listen to the interview with Greg Werkheiser here.
Listen to the interview with Chief Anne Richardson here.
