News

Billboard Controversy in Richmond

Advertisement alongside I-64 encroaches on African-American burial ground.

Published

10 months ago

February 27, 2024

Marie Adamick

On Shockoe Hill in Richmond’s East End (Richmond, VA), a memorial for the 22,000 enslaved and freed African Americans buried there in the 1800s, is overshadowed by a billboard along Interstate 64, according to local CBS affiliate WTVR.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said the city has looked into removing the billboard. The city took over the property a few years ago, but Stoney said Lamar Advertising owns a permanent easement that was in place prior to the city taking ownership for the billboard on the land.

A spokesperson for Lamar said the company prides itself on being a great community partner in Richmond and expressed a willingness to work with the city. The statement said that in a November meeting, “Lamar replied that we would work toward finding an amicable solution with the city, and the city leaders expressed gratitude at Lamar’s willingness to help them solve this issue.”

Read the full article at wtvr.com.

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