Jazz music’s history in Virginia might not be as well known as it is in New Orleans and New York City – but the music is woven into the history of Virginia. Jazz greats like Lonnie Liston Smith, Devonne Harris and Ella Fitzgerald all called the state home. And Richmond is the host of an annual Jazz Festival at the historic Maymont Estate (a 100-acre Victorian Estate now turned into a public park). Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1917. Her historic contributions to jazz reverberate positively today and her stature is representative of any type of new monuments we might conceive of in the future. New public artwork along Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia would be a perfect starting point for a new recognition of Fitzgerald.