Updated: Lawsuit halts slave auction block move

Updated The city says the pending lawsuit has temporarily halted plans to move the auction block to the Fredericksburg Area Museum.

E.D. Cole Building, L.L.C. & Local Holdings, L.L.C. filed a petition in Fredericksburg Circuit Court on 12/10/19, appealing City Council’s Nov. 12th adoption of Resolution 19-100. Plans to remove slave auction block have been halted until it can be resolved in court.

— Fredericksburg, Va (@FxbgGov) December 16, 2019

Original post The owners of a building located next to Fredericksburg's historic slave auction are pushing back on the city's plans to move the block from the streets and into a downtown museum. The owners of the buildings that house Kybecca restaurant, located at 402 William Street in Downtown Fredericksburg, and which is home to Kybecca restaurant, at 401 and 402 William Street, respectively, filed a lawsuit against the city in hopes to keep the auction block where it's at. The business owners say the block is a "significant structure and a landmark" in the city's downtown historic district plan dating back to 1972. Removing it, they allege, will take away an opportunity to tell the history of slavery and its effects on the city. City officials have been working with consultants for the past year and a half on a plan to move the block from public view into the Fredericksburg Area Museum. It's going to cost the city about $10,000 to move, clean, and set the block in a display inside the museum. The block was set to be moved by the end of December. Afterward, the city plans to place a bronze medallion where the block sat, and then expand the width of the sidewalk where it sat. A press release from the city government states:

“The City Council’s decision to relocate the slave auction block was made after 18 months of public input sessions, including the year-long community collaboration project led by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. Hundreds of residents participated in this effort, sharing their personal experiences and perspectives,” said Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Mayor Greenlaw concluded her statement, saying, “City Council has directed the City Attorney to vigorously defend this action, and to bring it to a successful conclusion as soon as reasonably possible.”

Potomac Local reported extensively on the debate on whether or not to move the block in July.