Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality demand VCU stop Shockoe paving

Early this morning the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality held a Vigil to protest VCU paving over an historic black cemetery. A press conference will follow immediately north of East Broad Street between the entrance to I-95 and the CSX railroad tracks. Coverage ongoing.

August 4, 2009; 6:52 AM • by Ross Catrow

Update #2

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Update

A short interview with Ana Edwards, the chair of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project.

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View the video at Vimeo.com

Original

Early this morning the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality held a vigil to protest VCU paving over the location of a historic black cemetery.

From the DFJE site:

“If VCU moves forward with its plan and we cannot stop them, we will seek restitution, reparations and possibly initiate a direct action campaign to express our outrage,” said King Salim Khalfani, Executive Director of the Virginia State Conference NAACP, who also will be participating in the press conference.

And:

VCU has publicly acknowledged the existence of the Burial Ground, the final resting place of perhaps thousands of enslaved Africans as well as poor whites. In response to community demands, it has set aside a 50 x 110-foot sliver of the lot to be used as a memorial. That section is not being repaved.

A press conference will follow immediately north of East Broad Street between the entrance to I-95 and the CSX railroad tracks.