Woman wants to memorialize unmarked African burial ground
CHRIS SUAREZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch
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This aerial photo shows 1305 North 5th Street, the site of an African burial ground, in Richmond , Va., on Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Daniel Sangib/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)Daniel Sangjib Min/AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Lenora McQueen came to Richmond four years ago to learn more about her fourth great-grandmother. That’s when she found out where she was buried in the city.
She knew freed and enslaved Black cemeteries aren’t usually well-maintained, but she expected to find some evidence of its past; perhaps a few headstones or grave shaft depressions in the ground.
i got hit and i m in trouble. o grady has the presence of mind to head to a nearby truck stop. i m on north 5th. i ve been shot. it was key for me to get to that truck stop, because that north 5th street was all dark. they never would have found me in time. i m headed for the truck stop at cheyenne. i could feel myself getting heig light-headed, losing consciousness. the cab owner gets the news every taxi boss dreads. i believed he was dying then. he was spent. he was done. but he carried on. it was i get goosebumps talking about it right now. i m losing it. help arrived just in time. i think i passed out. before i know it, the door was being pulled open by the paramedics. i ve been shot on my left side, sir.