Wonderful Black History Article in Today's Washington Post!

Question

In Today's Washington Post there's a wonderful article about an African-American woman in Texas who was able to trace her ancestry and in the process identified in Virginia the Richmond African Burying Ground which may turn out to be the largest such cemetery in the US -- but after the city closed it in 1879 it was virtually made to disappear until the descendants have gotten the City to buy an abandoned gas station on the site and are trying to restore some sense of the history involved.  I believe the link will take you to the article and let you read it.

Answer 1

Thank you for posting this excellent article, Jack.  If there is anyone who isn't able to access the article behind the paywall, the US Black Heritage Project has two more brief articles on the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground available on our "African-American Resources for Virginia" page found here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:African-American_Resources_for_Virginia  under the "Resources by Location: Independent Cities" heading for Richmond, Virginia.

This burying ground is on our list for profiles to be made for those who were buried there.  Our project members and recently formed USBH state teams are hard at work documenting the millions of people who were enslaved and their descendants, and if this interests anyone, we would love to have your help.  If you find one without it, please add the {{African-American Sticker}} to the top of the profile of any Black person living in the United States, so that the project can keep track of the profiles and honor their heritage.  If you'd like to be more involved, please consider joining the USBH Project: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:US_Black_Heritage

We have state teams for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia (with teams coming soon for Louisiana and Texas), if anyone is interested in working in a particular state, and we also have teams working country-wide in different areas such as profile improvement, African-American notables, Heritage Exchange (slavery, plantations, and more), and Family Builders (finding and connecting enslaved ancestors with descendants), and more.  Every team needs more help, so if you have an interest, please consider joining the project and letting us know which particular area or areas you are interested in.

Comments

Cheryl, when a team is formed for Maryland, I'll join it -- I'm not sure I can do anything more than I'm already doing, but as I work on pre-civil war and colonial Maryland profiles, I'm committed to highlighting any enslaved persons named in wills.

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Jack, it would be wonderful to have you on our Maryland team when it forms.  Thank you very much for highlighting enslaved people when you see them on wills, this is very helpful!

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I"m Province of Maryland team leader in Southern Colonies and Maryland Project Coordinator under US History, so it would all tie together!

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That's perfect.  That's just how I found my way to the USBH project, too--I was researching family in Virginia, and it was a natural fit.  It's so nice when it all dovetails together, and doing work in one area fits well with doing work for another project, too.

Answer 2

A great article, Jack.  Thank you.

Answer 3

Thank you, Jack, for bringing this to my attention.

I don't know how to respond. So many emotions. A deep and abiding sadness tempered with the flames of smoldering anger.

This story, in all its horrible depth, is a small window into a much greater tragedy played out all across America. Yet, the triumph of Lenora, continuously overcoming so much indifference and resistance is inspiring beyond words.

I have seen this story repeated in many places as I have traveled through the world of genealogy. It always saddens me. And angers me. So little concern for the past; so many efforts to cover up; to hide from view the ugly parts; to excuse the lack of humanity; to fuel the indifference that plows over history and disrepects the dead.

God moans in pain as he watches man denigrate his creation.