Tree vs. Memorial

In Fundamentals we are talking about social and cultural landscape values. How do we decide when saving an old site is more important than progress? In Richmond, Virginia, a decision is being created pitting a memorial for Maggie Walker, the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States, and an old oak tree.


 

The debate over the proposed memorial does not seem to ask whether the memorial is important. It simply focuses on questions about why the memorial and the tree cannot coexist. It is a large Southern live oak (one article described it as "towering") and the neighbors see it as a cultural treasure. It will be interesting to see whether the community gets drawn into a greater conflict.