Originally published in the Summer/Fall 2025 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 77, printed December 11. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Summer/Fall 2025 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

By Ana Edwards

At a public meeting held Dec. 10 at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, the community was offered the first public progress report on the design of the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground memorial.

While the design was enthusiastically received, most of the 45 people attending were familiar faces, involved in some way with the project, directly or indirectly. So, not a bad crowd, just not many of the public that was hoped for.

Speakers included host and lead designer Burt Pinnock (Baskervill), Jill Nolt of Waterstreet (landscape plan) and Taekia Glass, Josh Epperson, and Ana Edwards (interpretive content). The primary question for the audience was, “Are we on the right track?” As one attendee said, “Beautiful presentation. We’ve come a long way. I can see the light through the tunnel.”

Check sacredgroundproject.net for images.