Swords Into Plowshares
Swords Into Plowshares is an innovative project to melt down the statue of Robert E. Lee that formerly stood in one of Charlottesville's public parks and use the bronze to make a new work of public art. You can read our proposal and 28 letters of support here.
Confederate sympathizers' lawsuit aims to take Charlottesville’s Lee statue away from Jefferson School African American Heritage Center
What is Swords Into Plowshares?
Swords Into Plowshares is an innovative project to melt down the statue of Robert E. Lee that formerly stood in one of Charlottesville's public parks and use the bronze to make a new work of public art.
The artistic transformation will be informed by a six-month community engagement process where residents of Charlottesville can participate in forums to help determine how the social value of inclusion can be represented through art and public space.
We will then commission an artist of national significance to work with our community to design and create new bronze sculptural art that we will display publicly in Charlottesville by 2026.
How it started
In 2016, a high school student named Zyahna Bryant created a petition calling for the removal of the Lee statue. It gathered significant local support and City Council eventually authorized the statue's removal. The Lee statue erupted from a local to an international symbol of white supremacy when, in August 2017, neo-Nazi rioters descended on Charlottesville to halt the removal.
The violence that engulfed our city became synonymous with globally-resurgent white nationalism. Many were injured and a woman named Heather Heyer was killed, when a Nazi-sympathizer drove his car into a crowd of racial justice demonstrators.
The Lee statue has been a singular source of harm to the Charlottesville community. We believe that racist symbols are not immutable parts of our cultural heritage. “Swords into Plowshares” offers Charlottesville–and the nation–the chance to transform our trauma into renewal through art.
Jan 12, 2023 by Charlottesville Tomorrow
Jan 09, 2023 by The Daily Progress
Jun 26, 2022 by The Washington Post
Feb 15, 2022 by The Conversation
Oct 23, 2021 by The Washington Post
Oct 22, 2021 by NPR
Oct 18, 2021 by The Huffington Post
The statue was removed from a public park in July 2021. In October, Charlottesville City Council requested proposals from organizations interested in taking possession of the statue. You can read our proposal and 28 letters of support here. This proposal was covered by national news syndicates such as the Washington Post, NPR, HuffPost, the Associated Press, Harper's Bazaar, and the New Yorker.
About the coalition
We are a coalition of Charlottesville-based organizations spearheaded by the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. The coalition includes the Democracy Initiative's Memory Project at the University of Virginia, Virginia Humanities, and the artist-run gallery Visible Records.
We have additional support from Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA, the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, as well as local clergy groups, arts organizations, educators, and activists.
Where we go from here
- Spread the word! Share this project with other people who are excited about fighting racism and white supremacy.
- If you are an artist, creator, or business and would like to support our project, please donate here.
- If you like this project and would like to get involved in a more substantial way, please contact us here.
- Take the survey to let us know your ideas here: survey