Breaking barriers of hate // Clement Britt Hundreds of counterprotesters hold signs in front of the Confederate J.E.B. Stuart statue at Monument Avenue and Lombardy Street after holding an early morning rally for racial justice at the Maggie L. Walker statue in Downtown and marching to Monument Avenue.

Breaking barriers of hate // Members of Black Lives Matters New York joined counterprotesters in front of First English Evangelical Lutheran Church at Lombardy Street and Monument Avenue.

The CSA II: New Confederate States of America rally at the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue pitted pro-Confederate statue supporters against counterprotesters who want them removed. With a strong police presence and a maze of barricades, the Sept. 16 rally was largely peaceful and without major incidents. // Clement Britt Police dressed in riot gear circle the west side of the Lee monument. Despite the small number of pro-Confederate demonstrators, there was an overwhelming police presence.

Counterprotesters surround Chris Willis, dressed in a T-shirt supporting President Trump and a cap bearing the Trump slogan “Make America Great Again,” as he holds up a sign supporting the Confederate statues.

Jason Collier joins the hands of a protester and counterprotester to pray near the Lee statue in the midst of the rally.

Tara Brandau, a Florida resident and organizer with the pro-Confederate CSA II group, expresses her support for the Lee statue while counterprotester Taylor Medley holds a sign with her opposing sentiment.

Police detain an unidentified counterprotester for singing rap music using a microphone and speaker on the grassy median on Monument Avenue between Meadow Street and Allen Avenue. With a semiautomatic rifle over his shoulder, CSA II organizer Thomas Crompton of Tennessee argues his point of view

Taylor Medley and other counterprotesters on Monument Avenue.

Richmonders Lauren Smith, left, and Katy Johnson hand out white paper roses, a symbol of the resistance in Nazi Germany. They said they learned from a statement by Coretta Scott King that people should wear their Sunday best when they go out to demonstrate.

Walking my baby back home // Harmony Otey, 5, is met by her grandfather, Jimmy Squire, or “PaPa” as she calls him, Wednesday when the last bell rang at Carver Elementary School in Richmond’s Carver neighborhood. The youngster was excited about spending the evening with PaPa.

Cityscape // Nestled among plantings on 9th Street amid the noise and traffic outside the gates of the Capitol in Downtown, this Buddhist statue offers passers-by a peaceful pause. Garbed like a monk, the statue holds a donation plate. This is an example of Bodhisattva art. Bodhisattva is a Sanskrit term and describes a person who is on the path to enlightenment as outlined by the religion’s founder, Gautama Buddha. The statue recently was removed.

Vigil for victim of violence // Family, friends, clergy, neighbors and co-workers gather last Friday at 34th and S streets in the East End for a candlelight vigil for Jenelle “Me Me” Smith, 26, one of three people found shot to death Sept. 10 in an apartment in Gilpin Court. The vigil, organized by Charles D. Willis of United Communities Against Crime, drew about 100 people who brought and candles in Ms. Smith’s memory.

Monarch feasts on butterfly bush in West End

Courtney Jones Talking art// Saxophonist and Richmond native Plunky Branch, left, participates in a panel discussion last Friday about legendary jazz musician John Coltrane following a screening of documentary filmmaker John Scheinfeld’s “Chasing Trane.” The film and discussion were part of the three-day Afrikana Independent Film Festival held at a variety of Richmond venues. Joining Mr. Branch on the panel are poet Lorna Pinckney, a Richmond open-mic poetry hostess, and Talib Kweli, a Brooklyn, N.Y.,-based hip-hop artist and DJ.