RICHMOND, Va. — A forgotten African burial ground in Richmond is getting renewed attention as architects work with the community to create a memorial for the estimated 22,000 free and enslaved people buried there.
The burial site, located beneath an interstate, a billboard and an old gas station, has been neglected for years. Now, the city has tasked Baskerville architectural firm with reimagining the space.
"This is a site that has been kind of forgotten and in a way has been desecrated numerous times over the years," said Patrick Thompson of Baskerville architectural firm. "And we want to bring attention to this site us and the city of Richmond and what we want to do is talk to the community and ask them what do you want us to do to kind of help us remember the 22,000 people who were buried here."
Aside from a historical marker commemorating the site, Thompson burying grounds’ current state on the corner of 5th Street and Hospital Street in Richmond leaves much to be desired.
Thompson says he’s disappointed to see people speeding down I-95 and and I-64 without giving the site a second look, but he’s hoping Saturday's public event could help change the site for the better.
Thompson and other artists have created three distinct models and renderings of what Shockoe Hill could become. One design includes removing the billboard and creating a sound procession.
"The idea is to create this kind of sound procession. Each metal rod represents one of the 22,000 people buried there," Thompson said.
Another design embraces what's currently present at the site.
"We're still trying to create something that memorializes the people that were buried here, but we're also saying this happened. We don't want to ignore what happened," Thompson said.
The third design aims to carry a message through transforming existing structures.
"The billboard itself is actually turned into artwork so instead of just being advertisements it becomes a place where we could have different messages that speak to the sight and what happened. But can speak to other things going on in the city," Thompson said.
The models were on full display during a public presentation at Abner Clay Park on Saturday.
"We do our best to bring out African American History parts of it that people do not know, parts of it that people do know about, but it's worthwhile to celebrate it in the way that we're doing today," said Benjamin Ross, historian at 6th Mount Zion Baptist Church.
For residents like Lollie George, the event wasn't just about what she could see but how the renderings resonated with her.
"I'm just incredibly pleased that people are putting this kind of time and thought into this space," George said.
She believes the project represents an important step forward for the community.
"Our history can be reckoned with… We can openly look at it and work together," George said.
Ross emphasized the importance of preserving this history.
"That is the hard work that is before us to make sure that nothing is erased anymore," Ross said.
Thompson believes community feedback is crucial to ensuring that this overlooked burial site is no longer passed over.
"That's the old away the new way it to not only memorialize these people to show that we cared about them and that they were an important part of the United States as well," Thompson said.
The Burying Ground re-imagining is is part of the larger Shockoe Project initiative. Its epicenter is in the Shockoe Valley, where hundreds of thousands of human beings were bought and sold. The project includes established projects and proposed projects including: a new trail head for the Richmond Slave Trail (under construction),improvements to the Richmond Slave Trail (under construction), renovations to the Reconciliation Statue Plaza, Shockoe Institute (under construction), National Slavery Museum, Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Pavilion, a memorial honoring the hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans traded here, a memorial honoring the African Burial Ground, Winfree Cottage and the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground.
The feedback gathered on Saturday will help improve the designs before they transform the area, hopefully within the next year or two.
Click here for more information about the Shockoe Project.
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