The City of Alexandria on Friday dedicated a new public art piece at Edmonson Plaza. Sculptor Erik Blome created the piece to commemorate Emily and Mary Edmonson, two slaves imprisoned in Alexandria in the 1840s.
According to the city’s announcement:
“[The] 10 foot-high bronze sculpture … commemorates their lives and those of others who were enslaved at the Bruin Slave Jail. In addition to the Edmonson sisters, thousands of enslaved people were held there after being separated from their families in the Chesapeake region and later sold away to owners who needed their labor in other Southern states. [The sculpture] honors the lives destroyed by slavery while celebrating the triumph of human spirit.”
The sculpture was funded by donations from Carr Properties.
