Kaine, McEachin Support Nomination of Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground to the National Register of Historic Places
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) sent a letter to Julie Langan, Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, supporting the nomination of Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground as a national historic place.
“This letter is to express our support for the nomination of Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground to be included in the National Register of Historic Places. Given the history and known location of this African Burial Ground we recognize the value in preserving such a space and strongly recommend it’s inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places,” said Sen. Kaine and Rep. McEachin.
Established in 1799, the Shockoe Hill African Burial Ground was the City of Richmond’s first designated burial ground for enslaved and free Black people. There is no official record or database for African-American burial ground locations, making it difficult for family members and descendants to visit the burial sites of the ancestors.
“That is among the many reasons we cosponsored legislation in the 116th Congress which would have directed the National Park Service to conduct a study of ways to identify, interpret, preserve, and record unmarked, previously abandoned, underserved, or other burial grounds relating to the historic African American experience,” the letter continues. “Therefore, without question, we support the African Burying Ground’s nomination before the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.”
Read the full letter here.
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