Emancipation and Freedom Monument (two 12 ft bronze figures)

Richmond, Virginia, United States

Landmarks and monuments

✓

Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Brown's Island, Richmond, Virginia, is a pair of 12-foot bronze figures by Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren, unveiled on 22 September 2021. Brown's Island is closed to public access during construction that began in November 2025.

Private to your Passport.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

No recommended arrival yet

We have not checked a recommended place to arrive or stop here yet.

This takes you to the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Emancipation and Freedom Monument (two 12 ft bronze figures)

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 37.5346° N, 77.4472° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Richmond, once the Confederate capital, now has a monument to emancipation on an island in the James River, and it opened two weeks after the city's Robert E. Lee statue came down. NPR reported on 22 September 2021 that the Emancipation and Freedom Monument, designed by Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren, was unveiled that day on Brown's Island, about two miles from where the Lee statue had stood.

It consists of two 12-foot bronze figures, a man and a woman holding an infant, newly freed from slavery. WTVR described the woman cradling the child and holding a paper dated 1 January 1863, the date of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the man, with whipping scars visible on his back, breaking free from shackles. Warren's own site names the man "Freedom" and says bronze plates on the pedestal carry portraits in relief.

The pedestal carries names, images and stories of ten Virginians, including Dred Scott, Nat Turner and educator Lucy Simms, chosen by the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission from more than 100 nominations. State senator Jennifer McClellan, who led the commission, told NPR it was the first state-funded statue celebrating emancipation in the United States. She had worked towards the monument since 2011, and it had originally been due in 2019.

Brown's Island closed for a $30 million renovation on 17 November 2025 and remains closed to public access during construction. Venture Richmond's plan shows a temporary reopening for the Richmond Folk Festival on 9 to 11 October 2026 and a planned reopening for the marathon on 14 November, with the island closed again in between and full completion anticipated in early 2027.

Add a photo

PRACTICAL

Plan your stop

WHAT TO EXPECT

A pair of 12-foot bronze figures on a pedestal in the James River park of Brown's Island. Venture Richmond says the island is closed to public access during construction; it reopened temporarily for the Richmond Folk Festival on 9 to 11 October 2026 and is planned to reopen on 14 November for the marathon, with full completion anticipated in early 2027.

ACCESS

Brown's Island, downtown Richmond. Venture Richmond (October 2026) says the island is closed to public access during construction. It reopened temporarily for the Richmond Folk Festival on 9 to 11 October 2026 and is planned to reopen for the marathon on 14 November; full completion is anticipated in early 2027.

COMMUNITY