Black Contractor Braves Threats In Removing Richmond Statues
Source: AP News
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Devon Henry paced in nervous anticipation, because this was a project like nothing he’d ever done. He wore the usual hard hat — and a bulletproof vest. An accomplished Black businessman, Henry took on a job the city says others were unwilling to do: lead contractor for the now-completed removal of 14 pieces of Confederate statuary that dotted Virginia’s capital city. There was angry opposition, and fear for the safety of all involved.
But when a crane finally plucked the equestrian statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson off the enormous pedestal where it had towered over this former capital of the Confederacy for more than a century, church bells chimed, thunder clapped and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Henry’s brother grabbed him, and they jumped up and down. He saw others crying in the pouring rain. “You did it, man,” said Rodney Henry. Success came at some cost. Devon Henry faced death threats, questions about the prices he charged, allegations of cronyism over past political donations to the city’s mayor and an inquiry by a special prosecutor. But he has no regrets.
“I feel a great deal of conviction in what we did and how it was done,” Henry, 43, told The Associated Press in the only interview he has given. As recently as a few years ago, the removal of Richmond’s collection of Confederate monuments seemed nearly impossible, even as other tributes to rebel leaders around the U.S. started falling.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/us-news-virginia-racial-injustice-richmond-only-on-ap-590bcf679e5940b99ac6cccfe9354f93
- Wed. July 1, 2020, workers preparing to remove the statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from its pedestal on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. Devon Henry, whose company handled the summer removals of Richmond's Confederate monuments, spoke with The Associated Press about navigating safety concerns for himself and his crew and previously unreported complexities of the project. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
- Devon Henry, owner of Henry Enterprises, adjusts his mask in front of the pedestal that used to hold the statue of Confederate General J.E.B Stuart during an interview Tuesday Sept. 15, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Henry is a Black businessman whose construction company took on a job the city says others were unwilling to do. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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back over the summer with so many like it, and good to see his firm got the contract to do it. 
