Black Graves Moved for Industrial Park: Respectful Relocation or Continuing Injustice?
The remains of approximately 275 African American tenant farmers are being moved from a former Virginia plantation to a new, dedicated burial ground to make way for an industrial park. This relocation, while eliciting mixed emotions among descendants, is being conducted with their significant input on the design and memorialization of the new cemetery. Archaeologists are exhuming the remains, with some descendants hoping for identification through genetic testing. The project, funded by logging revenue from the land, aims to honor the lives of those who were previously buried without proper recognition, emphasizing their dignity and significance.
John Q. Hosedrinker