Project begins phase two of the City's Shockoe Project

Richmond, VA  — Community and government leaders representing the City of Richmond, Commonwealth of Virginia, and Shockoe Legacy Foundation gathered on Wednesday morning to celebrate the launch of the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Pavilion project, officially beginning phase two of the City’s Shockoe Project.  

“As I look at the [Shockoe] project overall, I think of a quilt” said City Council President and Shockoe Legacy Foundation Vice President Cynthia Newbille . “The quilt will give us this centerpiece—the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, the Mary Lumpkin Event Lawn, the African Burial Ground, the National Memorial of the Winfree Cottage, the Slave Trail and the National Slavery Museum. If you think of all those parts and pieces as a quilt in our community, that really allows us to tell the whole story, the whole truth.” 

The Lumpkin’s Slave Jail pavilion archaeological and educational center will sit on the site of the historic Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, once the largest slaveholding facility in Richmond, where enslaved people were kept before being sold. 

Site excavation will reveal foundations of the original jail sitting about 15 feet below ground and a new brick-clad pavilion will sit over the site, offering protection and space for reflection and remembrance, shared Burt Pinnock, Principal Architect at Baskervill , the lead architectural firm behind the project.  

“This is what the Shockoe Project is all about,” said Richmond Mayor Danny Avula . “It is an invitation for people to face our history honestly, not to dwell in the past, but to understand it and to learn from it. We want to take this whole area that was central the story of enslavement in America and we want to turn it into a place for education and remembrance and engagement.” 

In his remarks, the Mayor shared a brief history of the site. From the brutality which earned it the moniker the “Devil’s Half-Acre" into a seminary for newly freed Black Americans, which would eventually become today’s Virginia Union University, this place of unspeakable tragedy has transformed and continues to transform into one of remembrance and redemption.  

“The pursuit of justice did not end with emancipation,” shared Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones . “It continues with our committed preservation of history; protecting sacred burial grounds and recognizing the lives and contributions of those who stories are far too often overlooked.” 

A recording of Wednesday’s event is available on the  City of Richmond YouTube channel .  

About The Shockoe Project

The Shockoe Project will create a comprehensive, experiential destination that places Richmond at the center of the American story by recognizing the history of enslaved and free Africans and people of African descent. Anticipated components of The Shockoe Project include the Shockoe Institute, National Slavery Museum, Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, Mary Lumpkin Event Lawn, the African Burial Ground, National Memorial, as well as the Winfree Cottage, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground and the Trail of the Enslaved.

About The Shockoe Legacy Foundation

The Shockoe Legacy Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and promoting the history of Shockoe as one of the nation's most significant sites associated with the domestic slave trade. The Foundation works in partnership with the City of Richmond and numerous community organizations to advance the implementation of the Shockoe Project and develop educational and commemorative spaces that honor those impacted by slavery while fostering healing, education, and reconciliation.