{"id":6968,"date":"2026-07-10T23:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968"},"modified":"2026-07-10T23:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:06:23","slug":"boston-firm-tapped-to-turn-confederate-statue-into-monument-to-racial-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968","title":{"rendered":"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is transported down East Jefferson Street in Charlottesville after being removed from Market Street Park on July 10, 2021. (John McDonnell\/The Washington Post)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Boston firm Model of Architecture Serving Society got the nod Friday to create a monument to racial diversity in Charlottesville <\/b>out of the bronze from a melted-down statue<\/a> of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that once sparked a violent white supremacist rally.<\/p>

Read more Colombian soccer federation condemns death threats against midfielder Jaminton Campaz<\/a><\/p>\n

The firm, known as MASS, also designed the national memorial to lynched Black Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, as well as \u201cThe Embrace,\u201d a public sculpture in Boston that depicts the intertwined arms of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and wife Coretta Scott King.<\/p>\n

Charlottesville\u2019s Jefferson School African American Heritage Center announced the choice Friday night after a months-long design competition.<\/a> MASS was among three finalists from dozens of proposals submitted. The initial MASS concept would turn the raw bronze from the melted Lee statue into the stylized form of an African baobab tree as the centerpiece of a public area for contemplation and discussion.<\/p>\n

That design \u2014 called \u201cRooted\u201d \u2014 could change over the summer, organizers said, after what is envisioned as an intensive period of public review and discussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Charlottesville are going to create something that then will be gifted into that civic space, which right away is antithetical to how those Confederate monuments were placed,\u201d said Andrea Douglas, executive director of the heritage center and co-founder of the Swords Into Plowshares project, which is spearheading the monument.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
\u201cThe Embrace,\u201d a public sculpture in Boston designed by MASS, depicts the intertwined arms of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and wife Coretta Scott King. (Steven Senne\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Instead of a statue to an individual placed by one segment of society, Douglas said, the new monument will be a multiracial effort to create \u201ca space of remembrance and also a space of reckoning.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Brewers sign veteran Bryse Wilson in an attempt to stabilize an injury-ravaged pitching staff<\/a><\/p>\n

The Lee statue had stood in Charlottesville\u2019s Market Street Park for nearly a century when the City Council voted in early 2017 to remove it. Later that year, white supremacists converged on the city to defend the statue in a violent Unite the Right rally. A counterprotester, Heather Heyer, was run down and killed by a car driven by one of the white supremacists.<\/p>\n

The statue finally came down in 2021, and Swords Into Plowshares melted it into bronze ingots two years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo transform the very material of a monument is to acknowledge that history cannot be erased, but it can be reimagined,\u201d Jha D Amazi of MASS said in a written statement. \u201cWe are honored to contribute to a future shaped not by inherited symbols, but by shared values and collective imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firm will work with sculptor Dana King on the main design. Organizers hope to have the new monument in place by August 2027 to mark 10 years since Unite the Right.<\/p>

Read more Graham Platner officially withdraws from Maine Senate race<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Charlottesville group melted the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee that sparked a racist rally in 2017 and will refashion the bronze into a monument about unity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nBoston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Charlottesville group melted the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee that sparked a racist rally in 2017 and will refashion the bronze into a monument about unity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T23:06:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0ee980532fbee878a6eb03b04d611daa-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T23:06:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968\",\"name\":\"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T23:06:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6968#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"A Charlottesville group melted the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee that sparked a racist rally in 2017 and will refashion the bronze into a monument about unity.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-07-10T23:06:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0ee980532fbee878a6eb03b04d611daa-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity","datePublished":"2026-07-10T23:06:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968"},"wordCount":532,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968","name":"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-07-10T23:06:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6968#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/97"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}