“It represents something,” she said.

In an email to the Historic Resources Committee and City Council following the September 10 meeting, Jane Smith, a member of the former Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces, asked the committee to review the suggestions made by the Blue Ribbon Commission in 2016 about Court Square.

“It is clear that you are all aware of the historical importance of this space, so I hope you also recognize its potential value to our city as part of a solemn place of commemoration. I hope you will continue to explore the possibilities for the city to acquire this property, either by purchase or by donation, ”she said.

Smith cited the committee meeting on October 19, 2016, where members discussed the future of the Court Square site.

“A historical marker (…) can speak of the tragedy of the sale of human beings far from their loved ones, far from their community,” John Edwin Mason, member of the Blue Ribbon Commission, said at the meeting. “And we have testimonials from former slaves who spoke of being sold and being sold in southern Virginia. We have their words. We can do a little history on a historical marker. … but the slave auction deserves some sort of dark and solemn memorial. I’m not an artist, I’m not an architect, I don’t know what that would look like, but it would be something of a certain size and something of a certain emotional impact.