30 years ago, the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing were answered with a military assault that claimed the lives of thousands of Chinese students. During the six-week demonstration, protestors erected a 33-foot-high monument—a woman holding a torch—known as the Goddess of Democracy.
When news of the killings reached Richmond, VCU students rushed to show their support. Artists on campus and across the city sculpted their own Goddess of Democracy just six days after the original was torn down in China. It lived on the lawn outside the University Student Commons.
On the 30th anniversary of the project, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reached out to the students who had devoted themselves to the memorial.
Bridget Gethins recalled the amazing response from the Richmond community for the project.
“It is important to understand that the Richmond community, Oregon Hill, the Fan District, VCU, people passing through our city, helped make this Goddess rise,” Gethins said. “Pleasants Hardware donated supplies. Restaurants sent meals. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts theater designers were there. Anyone who wanted to make this Goddess happen was welcomed. It was inspiring.”
Chinese students studying at both the academic and medical campuses of VCU became involved with the project. Gethins said students “were getting faxes that had the names of the students and protesters who were killed.”
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