The Virginia Council was founded in the winter of 2021, in response to a period of deep cultural division and rapid change across our state.
During the years leading up to its formation, Virginia saw significant public debate over our shared history. This debate often extended into our streets, communities, and public spaces. Public art and monuments, many of them nationally recognized, became the focus of strong and sometimes contentious actions. These changes were not only about the works themselves, but also about the values and memories they represented. This unrest revealed a deeper crisis: Virginians no longer agreed on how to understand our history and national identity.
During this time, innocent people were harassed, small businesses were harmed, and emergency powers were used to restrict open debate. These events marked a turning point. They raised serious questions: Will we preserve our past or erase it? And how Virginia can best honor and learn from its complex past while ensuring it remains relevant and meaningful for future generations?
We believe the past is real and knowable. We support preserving history, rather than reshaping it to match current social or political views.
This view, called historical realism, seeks to understand what truly happened through evidence and context. Historical realism does not defend every part of the past. It calls us to face wrongs honestly, without denial or distortion. Only then can we make sound moral judgments and apply our constitutional principles fairly and wisely.
The Virginia Council was established to address these concerns through legal advocacy, public education, and cultural engagement. Our aim is to safeguard the Commonwealth’s monuments, art, and historic sites—not simply as relics, but as resources for learning, dialogue, and community connection.
Since 2021, hundreds of Virginians from all walks of life have joined our volunteer movement, taking active roles in caring for their communities and working toward solutions that rise above partisan politics.
Our mission is clear: to preserve Virginia’s history while helping shape a prosperous and united future for all who call it home. We invite you to stand with The Virginia Council and help build a better Virginia, one that remembers its past as it works toward a better tomorrow.
