![drone view of highway and houses](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7110bd9a9c83d97ed90b4758be565c85/7266d832-36d9-4871-9576-0c2445a6b586_rw_1920.jpg?h=61bbf95fb60c4fba31a15ed16e6643e7)
Gilpin Court is Richmond's largest and oldest public housing project. It was built adjacent to I-95, a construction project that, ironically, demolished many of the original houses in the area.
![drone view of general lee statue on a horse in richmond](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7110bd9a9c83d97ed90b4758be565c85/ea8226cb-66ed-41f2-a263-fb4d6ac07aae_rw_1920.jpg?h=812ac202af3f8d2f2d4c4a636dac0862)
A statue of Robert E. Lee, a famous Confederate general, sits in a prominent position astride a traffic circle near downtown. For many people, the Confederacy represented a desire to retain slavery.
![drone view of highway and houses](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7110bd9a9c83d97ed90b4758be565c85/54aef1fe-d753-402e-93ec-9ab5e91f367b_rw_1920.jpg?h=9d957d67064f5c21a091a3af8bc51ad0)
Looking south from the northern side of I-95, Jackson Ward is anemic, empty, and green.
![drone view of highway and church in richmond](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7110bd9a9c83d97ed90b4758be565c85/65e8d916-93de-4497-b859-43dc07eaccb8_rw_1920.jpg?h=51124811c699a1edffa6ff750d523ac4)
One small victory was the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist church, a historic site of worship built in 1884, which had the misfortune to be located directly in the path of the interstate. With the bulldozers looming, a loud and furious resistance from community members prevented construction proceeding as planned. The church was permitted to stand, and the entire interstate was re-engineered to bend around it – one of the few symbols of resistance still visible.
![drone view of general lee statue in richmond](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7110bd9a9c83d97ed90b4758be565c85/2b4fe119-5b3e-423e-b4ef-df0998d74a80_rw_1920.jpg?h=ba18c31539e4a080e83129d7548676eb)
This statue of Robert E. Lee was covered in graffiti after the 2020 protests against the murder of George Floyd. In 2022 it was finally removed and the plinth dismantled.