Used for fill, edited.

This is a story about a woman researching her ancestry who uncovered horrific disregard for Richmond’s largest (and possibly the US’s largest) African American cemetery. If you have driven i64 east of Richmond, you’ve driven through it. Her story about finding connection to her 4x great grandmother is incredible.

This cemetery was one of three opened at the same time. One for white Christians, one for white Jews, and one for African Americans (free and enslaved). The other two cemeteries are well preserved. This one is hard to find because not much was intentionally preserved.

This cemetery and its entombed persons were regularly the victims of medical students sourcing bodies for schooling. Later on, it was paved through for the expansion of a road, the bodies were used to make fill for the road. Much more recently, I64, the railroad, and a gas station were built on top of this land without regard to the those entombed nor their descendants.

I agree. I listed I64 because of how often people drive over the bridge without realizing. The stealing of recently deceased bodies for medical students and using bones for fill for a road expansion were way worse.