from local authors. >> richmond, it's a place he called his hometown. he referred to himself as a virginian. this is where he wrote his first poetry. this is where he had a lot of his formative inspirations that inspired literature for years to come. >> we need more to be leaders that elected officials people are always politicians, always. politicians are with you want to hear. people hear what they have to here. >> we now begin our special feature. while in richmond we took a driving tour of the city with mayor levar stoney. >> mayor stoney think of showing us well richmond today. its summit has never been to richmond, virginia,, what should you know about the city? >> i think they should know that

this is the cultural history arts capital of all things virginia. we are sitting on the rise. imagine a thriving city with a backdrop of all the historic riches we have here as well spirit we are going to a historic neighborhood right now. >> we are headed to churchill spent what makes churchill distinct? >> it's part of the original layout of the city of richmond. you are about to see the original part of the city. on the right, st. john's church. >> for those who don't know, tell me about that. >> many people have their textbooks out right now. amber heard of a guy named patrick henry? give me liberty or give me death, pre-runner to the revolutionary war. >> it happened right here. you still preserve the church. when you go to richmond you're walking among history next to these modern restaurants and

shops. how do you make sure that you keep that not to history alive while still advancing the city? >> this is about tourism, what attracts people to your city. one of the most attractions -- knowledge we have great historic features can we also have a great river that runs the city as well. the history is what keeps people coming back and coming back. if history brings initially than they can partake in a restaurants come in the great museums we have. they can see so many things spewing what are we coming up on? >> this is the view. william burr came, the settlers of virginia came up here and saw this band around the river. and remind him of richmond hill, the river thames in london.

that's how he got the name richmond. so right here you had downtown. beautiful view of our downtown, financial district as people know this is the capital of virginia as well. not only to have a great financial disco a lot of government buildings. where the seat of government here in virginia. >> i've seen a lot of industrial buildings. i see the lucky strike tout it was that sort of richmond economic past, present? >> its economic pass. the river provide for all things commerce entry back in the day. spin where are we heading out? >> we're going to head to richmond hill here in churchill. it's a view of all things downtown. what i remember from this view of the city is a lot of different candidates and

politicians and whatnot in the past can help a lot of conferences because it offers such a great view all things downtown. you can see the hustle and bustle of downtown. this is writer a great deal of, writer underneath, and then you see downtown, the vcu health complex over there. that's state government here you can see the capital from here. you can see the executive mansion as well. i'll be going to go by the capital? let's do that. >> wwe'll talk about the capita. >> you can see jeffersons works. still around us. how does the city and state government in iraq and if at all? >> state government as a part of. i'm lucky i think about state government based in our city. but also it presents challenges at times as well. when you hold a state government, they are tax exempt. you want to make an economic

impact but they don't pay taxes on his beautiful buildings as well. i would rather have them do not happen, i'll say that. >> we are at the state capital. the state capital doesn't look like a lot of other capital buildings that i've seen. >> this is the original. this is one of the oldest operating capitals we have. >> who designed this, thomas jefferson? >> the third president of the united states of america. >> the capital that is still in use today. tell me about what we are saying. >> abraham lincoln came here during, came here right at the end of the civil war when richmond fell, and basically he freed some slave right over here. we have a number of statues on the capital square grounds as well. there's harry byrd over here. civil rights, oliver hill,

barbara johns speedup we're talking about these monuments. there's a lot of statues and monuments in your city. >> there are. you want to go to monument avenue, speaking about? even when i came here back in 2004 richmond was on that upward trajectory but it was much still to be desired. in the '90s a lot of this was basically abandoned. when people come back now, i think what we are experiencing is that there are folks who begin their lives here, who went on to college and other places come had jobs and other cities, san francisco, washington, and the québec because richmond is cool again speak what turned that tied? what made it cool and when did people start back? great murals and businesses. what made the change? >> i think the change, i was

trying to explain this t is from the other day. remember when vcu went to the final four? wares at the school? it's the city of richmond. richmond on the map. this was the epicenter of the 2008 presidential election as well of president obama. that helped put us on the map. president obama won virginia for the first time in 40, 44 years spent a democrat. >> that's right. >> do you think that is changed as far as the government? virginia also went blue in the most recent election. >> that's right. richmond is a part of all that because we play a significant role in the electoral future of the commonwealth of virginia. not only do you have votes in northern virginia, you also a thriving, growing region as well. we are still growing and i think vcu is a driver of that and i

think young people in general moving here. >> how do molinos respond to richmond history? >> you know what, i think the folks -- mobiles -- the folks who are moving to the city, just what i did about 13 years ago, you are surrounded by history basically every single day. but history also means that some history where here are not proud of. confederate history that kind of, you know, as i think a stain on the cities record you could say. but instead of being stuck in the past and history as an ache with a kitchen should be our foundation to build on. we are writing a new chapter in richmond history that's tolerant of all cultures and all walks of life. we are headed down monument

avenue one of the most iconic streets in all things america i think. one of the first monument unders was created around 1986-1997 towards arthur ashe who was the international tennis star who was born and bred writer in richmond. right now is the only monument to an african-american on monument avenue. that the statute will be to those who served in the civil war. so you have arthur ashe, you got jeb stuart, stonewall jackson, robert easily. >> so there has been -- robert e lee. there's been some controversy about some of the statute to pick what i feel about the statues on monument avenue? >> folks ruggedized this is a part of our history, a terrible history, a horrible history may

be but it is a part of our history. as i've always said what i should any tears at the jefferson davidson statue be torn down? no, i wouldn't but i think the history of the past, that being terrible or not shouldn't be out anchor. they should be the foundation to go forward. [inaudible] spirit it's about an opportunity for history. [inaudible] statues honoring or memorializing these figures, and i think they key is to tell the whole story. i think richmond can be the center of all things reconciliation, right? yes, we do have a terrible past that it's time to start writing that chapter, first to begin reconciliation. >> what's that narrative you would like to achieve your dream

goal for not even your time as mayor but for a time as a resident in the city of richmond? >> i think is my time as mayor and also residency, the goal i would like to achieve would be when people think about the city of richmond, currently i think the next sentence, the capital of virginia and the former capital of the confederacy. i want to change that narrative. i want to change that. the culture and history, not just being known as the capital of the confederacy. we are more open-minded, more inclusive and tolerant than our history may say. >> located in downtown richmond, the white house and the confederacy is where confederate president jefferson davis and disseminated from 1861 until the evacuation of richmond in

april 1865. following the end of the war it became a headquarters for the u.s. army, and in 1870 was given back to the city of richmond. the whole mess since been restored and is open to the public as a museum. up next week visit the edgar allen poe museum, the only museum in richmond dedicated to a literary figure. >> edgar allen poe is the right who put american literature on the map. he's the one who was the first international influential american writer. he invented the detective stories. he is one of the pioneers of science fiction. he built the tale of psychological terror. he wrote the only poem that so famous that has its own nfl team than after. the idea that a home or work of literature or piece of art didn't have to teach you something, didn't have to have a moral, didn't have to make a better person. it was