A slavery auction block has been sitting in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia for far too long. The time has come for us to remove this object, which was installed for the sole purpose of selling enslaved African Americans, from the streets of our city. We, the people of Fredericksburg, Virginia and surrounding areas, request that this blatant symbol of slavery be removed immediately. This auction block serves no practical purpose except to remind our citizens and visitors of a time when people were bought and sold as the personal property of others more fortunate than themselves. We have become weary of gazing upon this stark symbol of oppression and hatred towards our fellow man every time we wish to travel down a particular street in our beloved city. It offends and disgusts us to see this block still sitting in the same spot where it once instilled so much fear and shame upon those who were forced to stand atop it and be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Today, the auction block serves only to represent oppression and racism. We, as a modern society, have had enough of this stone symbol of bigotry; let us have it removed from our beautiful downtown neighborhood. Display it in a museum if you wish, but this vile monument does not belong on a public streetcorner as a constant reminder of the hatred that once filled this town, state, and nation which we call our home. 

As stated by a local resident:

"This should not be an object that the city makes money off of through tourism since that glorifies it. It should be peacefully removed and put into a Museum and/or replaced by a true memorial that recognizes and respects the people who suffered and who were sold at this very spot. If it stays, it should have a real memorial and a fence around it, so people cannot use it for anything less than respectful historical purposes." 

Please sign this petition if you agree with our cause and help us to remove the slave auction block from the corner of Charles Street and William Street in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.