Williams: VCU should excavate possible burial ground

Issues associated with cemeteries indicate our limited outlook regarding history, land use, and time.  My American Indian ancestors lived here for at least 10,000 years. If we continue our current point of view regarding cemeteries and the burial of our dead for another 10,000 years our ancestors will be living in tents in cemeteries that by then will take up all available land.  There won’t be any farms, towns, or parks. All land will be used for cemeteries. We need to think this through and take a different approach to what we do with our bodies.

I should have used better judgment with my comments on ramgrl’s post, and for that, ramgrl, I apologize.  I wrote with uncontrolled emotion.  And I do agree, I too rent in the fan and have had people shot within a block of my residence.  It is not the safest city in the world, but it is not the most dangerous.  My hope is that we can learn to appreciate the sacrifice that the men and women forced into slavery had to endure and show them the respect they deserve.

( patrick ) Looking forward to reading about your leadership on this project. I’ve lived in five states and four nations. This is my second time living in Richmond. First time was in the early eighties and I think Richmond has made some great progress since then. While things certainly may move slowly, I don’t see a great deal of difference from the other cities where I have lived, particularly in times when resources are so scarce. I live on a block in the Fan that I would have been afraid to walk unarmed when I lived here before, so I wouldn’t be so hard on the murder reputation comment by ramgrl. She didn’t appear to be ignorant to me, although I wouldn’t necessarily agree with all her points. No need to demean other posters because they may not reflect or agree with your position or opinion…as a historian I would hope you’d be more open to reasoned argument from different perspectives. VCU is a terrific university with wonderful students, faculty, staff and alumni. As in all universities, particularly young ones, it has a more promising future than past. Wear your affiliation proudly…you and the university deserve it!

I just have to say that ramgrl, you are the epitome of ignorance.  And you clearly do not know history, so please do not pretend you do. Oh, but your cute little Civil War theory was very amusing.  Richmond is not the murder capital of the world, nor has it ever been.  But we were the SLAVE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.  The Trans-Atlantic slave trade happened. Millions of Africans were taken from their homeland, forced to cram on a boat side by side, head to feet, with no room to move, no way out, no bathrooms, and shackled to men and women they do not know and do not speak the same language.  Then they arrive 3 months later, if they survived, only to march up the James River and into RICHMOND, stripped naked and sold to the highest bidder. If you made it across the Atlantic with your family, you still may end up in Georgia, while your son and daughter are taken to Maryland.  And all of those hundreds of thousand that had to follow the same fate, were brought here, and died here.  I do not think anyone will be wondering where ramgrl was buried don’t you worry.  But our ancestors who had more courage and strength in their pinky finger than you do in your entire body, deserve a final resting place, not a parking lot! 

And veteran, I agree we need to do more than talk.  Change is coming, but for now we must keep the dialogue on the table, because not a single city in the country drags their feet more than Richmond. 
And by the way, I am a white Richmonder and graduated from VCU with a history degree.

This column immediately reminded me of the words of Professor Ashleigh Brilliant, “Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn’t have to do it.“
Perhaps Mr. Williams and Mr. Blakey, who purport to have deep concerns regarding this issue, might be willing to present themselves as leaders, rather than merely serving as critics and problem admirers? Perhaps they might actually work together with interested parties, to develop workable solutions and funding for researching and addressing this situation?
It is my understanding that the similar NY based project, referred to in this article as formerly directed by Mr. Blakey, is currently managed by the General Services Administration, and according to it’s website is, “a testimonial to a positive and collaborative partnership between many parties, including the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Howard University, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the African American community.
Why aren’t similar groups and organizations in this area mobilizing to model this “collaborative partnership,“ perhaps supported by the College of William & Mary’s Institute for Historical Biology and it’s director, rather than throw rocks at a university with a rich tradition of accessibility and community support, that delayed it’s original plans to consult with critics and attempt to find alternatives? Perhaps the individuals and organizations might be better served by actually doing something to address their concerns. In my experience when one cares deeply about an issue they “work” to get it resolved instead of looking around and pointing fingers at others expecting them to solve the problem. Mr. Williams’ appears to be encouraging an attitude that my issues need to be solved by other people in this country, without any effort, energy or resources being expended by me, or in this case, the individuals and organizations who champion the issue themselves.