RICHMOND, Va. — The community is once again honoring the life of August Moon, a Richmond musician and community activist.
City officials unveiled an honorary sign for August Moon Way on the corner of 12th and Hull Streets on the Southside.
Moon's family said the musician, who died just over a year ago after battling an illness, would have been so touched by the tribute.
“He would tap his feet and tap his hands and be looking up like, 'We did it,'” Sidell Britton, one of his daughters, said.
Family and friends recounted the layered life Moon lived to those in attendance.
Moon, who grew up in the Blackwell neighborhood, was described as a man known for many accomplishments. One of those was his recording career.
He famously co-produced the song, "Seven Minutes of Funk," which has been sampled by dozens of hip-hop artists.
Moon's family recalled how many people in Blackwell called him the "Mayor of Hull Street" because of his work to bring businesses and entrepreneurs to the area.
Others remembered him as a community activist striving to end violence and helping with causes in Blackwell.
He also hosted the public access cable show, “Tell It Like It Is,” which relatives said was known to get into politics.
Many viewers knew him by his signature phrase, “ If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
“If he didn’t do anything, he was going to speak the truth," Britton said. "[He] had such a big heart that he didn’t just think well of himself, he thought well of others.”
His family partnered with Richmond Public Schools to create an endowment scholarship in Moon's honor at Richmond High School for the Arts.
They shared how they hope through these actions and the actions of his family- the legacy of Moon will live on forever.
“I know he is smiling in heaven. He did it,” Britton said.
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