Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
I Can/t Breathe
Completed: 09/07/2020 Location: 28 N 20th St Richmond, VA 23223
Artists: Amiri Richardson-Keys / Emily Herr
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 10, 2023
1. I Can/t Breathe Marker
Inscription.
I Can/t Breathe. Completed: 09/07/2020 Location: 28 N 20th St Richmond, VA 23223. This piece was created in real time using the inspiration from the history of Shockoe Bottom and the mission of Mending Walls (BlackLivesMatter). Shockoe Bottom was home to the second largest slave trade on the East Coast. We chose fish that are native to the James river ecosystem to construct the images of the two figures. One of the figures is a representation of Solomon Northrup, famous author known for penning Twelve Years a Slave, who was traded as a slave through Shockoe Bottom before being shipped to Louisiana. His image in the mural depicts an ancestor. His fist rising out of the coral represents the struggles that are happening underneath the water to support the next generation's uprising. The image in the upper left corner is a representation of Jacob Blake, a 29 year old African American Wisconsin man who recently surfaced into the media spotlight when he was shot by a police officer in August seven times and barely survived. This shooting has left Blake paralized from the waist down. His image is represented by an emergence pressing out of the water trying to breathe as the struggles of life are happening underneath and around him. He is barely able to catch his breath.
This piece was created in real time using the inspiration from the history of Shockoe Bottom and the mission of Mending Walls (BlackLivesMatter). Shockoe Bottom was home to the second largest slave trade on the East Coast. We chose fish that are native to the James river ecosystem to construct the images of the two figures. One of the figures is a representation of Solomon Northrup, famous author known for penning Twelve Years a Slave, who was traded as a slave through Shockoe Bottom before being shipped to Louisiana. His image in the mural depicts an ancestor. His fist rising out of the coral represents the struggles that are happening underneath the water to support the next generation's uprising. The image in the upper left corner is a representation of Jacob Blake, a 29 year old African American Wisconsin man who recently surfaced into the media spotlight when he was shot by a police officer in August seven times and barely survived. This shooting has left Blake paralized from the waist down. His image is represented by an emergence pressing out of the water trying to breathe as the struggles of life are happening underneath and around him. He is barely able to catch his breath.
Location. 37° 31.959′ N, 77° 25.51′ W. Marker is in Richmond, Virginia. It is in Shockoe Bottom. It is at the intersection of North 20th Street and East Franklin Street, on the right when traveling south on North 20th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 28 North 20th Street, Richmond VA 23223, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 479 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 11, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
