All you folks asking what you can do to help protect Richmond’s Black cemeteries? Sign this and circulate the link. We gotta make the ground rumble and shake to get our elected officials to act. chng.it/fdK6NwSDcr

Almost 10,000 signatures! Citizens, led by members of Richmond's Black community, have asked Gov. Northam & other officials to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN & ACT after helping a private group snap up historic Black cemeteries over the years. Please read & sign if you're on the same page.

Thank you for sharing Eric Hollaway. It was a pleasure to work with BBC World Service. Looking forward to Constitutional conversations here in the US....

One step forward, 2nd foot hanging in the air. We’re waiting for officials to follow the 12k signers who stood up for accountability for the $ they have handed to the private owner of East End and Evergreen, transparency going forward, & real—not token—descendant involvement.

Jim Crow followed Black people to the grave. And in this case, and many others like it, Jim Crow gets the last word. If this headstone celebrates anything, it’s white privilege—and the toxic delusions it fuels.

Or at least speak directly to independent descendants and citizens—not the spokespeople handpicked by Enrichmond. Please. . Jennifer McClellan Levar Stoney

This is the work of Enrichmond and VAOutdoorsFoundation. On Memorial Day, they are offering “a free meal” to veterans. That’s icing with no cake. What’s needed now isn’t lunch + photo op for politicians, it’s consistent care for East End and Evergreen. Our ancestors deserve better.

An illuminating post by @humanrightsprof about the maddening and tragic situation at East End and Evergreen Cemeteries here in Richmond, VA. radicaldeathstudies.com/2021/06/14/cem…

It would be so easy for Enrichmond and its government backers to do better than this. Be honest with people. Treat them as equals. Remember that you are stewards and servants, not royalty. Humility. Oversight, transparency, accountability, genuine descendant engagement. Simple.

THREAD.

This is an insult to our ancestors. Last night, Enrichmond held a virtual meeting “to engage the descendant community.” That was a lie. The truth: descendants were kept on mute as Enrichmonders lectured us. That’s manipulation, not engagement.

As an eyewitness to 9-11 in NYC, I find Enrichmond’s video thoroughly exploitive of the dead. It’s not surprising—it exploits African American dead at East End & Evergreen to raise bucks for its rebranding and improvised cemetery makeover. But this is lower and uglier than ever.

We’re hoping common sense and good governance will prevail after this important move…

Let’s use this an opportunity to reset the situation at our sacred sites: public meetings and transparency now!

This is the sharpest analysis yet of Enrichmond’s meltdown, by Michael Paul Williams.

Exactly. Years of gaslighting from Enrichmond and silence from its funders. It’s time for accountability from the city, county, state, and federal officials that supported and bankrolled this group. They can help mend the damage by stepping up and speaking out.

I just posted an updated version of the op-ed I wrote for Richmond Free Press about Congress's looming Black cemeteries bill. If you're concerned about historic preservation and African American sites of memory, please read. #BlackCemeteries #preservation medium.com/@bxpnyc/histor…

From Michael Paul Williams, an update on the #EnrichmondFoundation collapse—and the ringing, stunning silence from its board and executive director, and government backers.

For years I’ve been writing about Enrichmond’s takeover of historic Black cemeteries in RVA. The nonprofit has tanked, taking hundreds of thousands of $$$ with it, but there’s more to be said about its duplicity—and the complicity of its gov’t backers. medium.com/@bxpnyc/the-en…