So many updates!
SHOCKOE PROJECT
Descendant community advisory body to be formed as a permanent co-authority within the Shockoe Project, 2026. Consultants will use a community-involved process similar to that used to create the Family Representative Council of the VCU East Marshall Street Well Project in 2015. Updates will be posted on sacredgroundproject.net. If this interests you, please study the project history and sign up for updates at theshockoeproject.com.
Video: The Shockoe Project Explained. https://youtu.be/9jbyZPxOyRk?feature=shared
The Shockoe Project | City of Richmond (client) https://share.google/NDPxd0Db36nqh80Df
Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground is part of the Shockoe Project’s North Memorial (north of Broad Street). Review the initial design concept at Shockoe Project - Master Plan (130 pages) at https://share.google/9xJIlWtECN3YwYAE3 and share your comments at theshockoeproject.com. Design completion and groundbreaking is anticipated for fall 2026. Updates will be posted on sacredgroundproject.net.
The Shockoe Project — Waterstreet Studio https://share.google/PHSs84RSSxj0m0MoB
240410_Shockoe-Project_Masterplan-for-The-10-Acres_11x17.pdf (66 pages) from April 2024. https://share.google/ThVreTgrycqjgpZPh
News | The Shockoe Project in Richmond Uncovers, Acknowledges, and Honors Enslaved People | VHB | VHB https://share.google/ubNoT07N9mZlsvo6Y
Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground Memorial. Review and give your opinions on 3 design concepts at Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground Memorial Concepts - Community Feedback https://share.google/fllKAUtKU1vi35vYN. Preservation work is ongoing by advocates and the city of Richmond. Work is anticipated to begin in 2027.
SHABG-Engagement-Report.pdf https://share.google/GOWUtKhP9f7HRaugR
The Trailhead Project of the “Richmond Slave Trail” by Baskervill broke ground this summer under Team Henry Construction. The landscape features a central gathering space modeled on the abolitionist diagram of The Brook, a slave ship. Designed to remind us of the thousands of captured African men, women and children transported to Virginia from the Western shores of the African continent, the trailhead marks points of disembarkation from countless ships. The people that endured the Middle Passage were enslaved to a strange people's cruel purposes, primarily agricultural and industrial labor. Seed Well, a sculpture by Brooklyn-based artist Tanda Francis, will be the site's first permanent public art installation and embodies the idea that these Africans carried their cultures and knowledge with them, blended them into their new situations, often secretly, to sustain themselves, pass to the next generations and, inevitably, to influence and shape the societies they helped to create.
The Shockoe Institute Grand Opening is planned for April 3, 2026, to also mark the taking of the city by Union and United States Colored Troops on April 3, 1865, known as Richmond Liberation Day. Visit shockoeinstitute.org or @shockoeinstitute on Instagram to stay up to date.
Mrs. Emily Winfree’s Cottage Relocation to the Manchester/Blackwell neighborhood where she once lived is scheduled for early April 2026. Updates on this project will come from the City of Richmond.
New Historic Markers are planned for 15th & E. Broad Street and 1st St at E. Cary. Designed to add to our evolving understanding of the history of Black Life in early Richmond, including Gabriel's rebellion, the state Penitentiary, Henrico Courthouse, locations of First Baptist Church, the gallows’ “usual place,” and burials during colonial and early national eras. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR or DHR) will review proposed texts during its September board meeting. Details will be posted on sacredgroundproject.net.
OTHER SACRED GROUND PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Architects of Afrofuturism is a public art project with Richmond area high school students and artist Chris Visions. This Sacred Ground Project-Art 180 collaboration will take place during the late spring of 2026 involves the painting of murals on two walls of the “sandwich shop” on E. Broad & 16th streets, the street side entrance to the 1799 African Burial Ground site. “Coming Soon” banners to be installed for October 10. Details will be posted on sacredgroundproject.net
Theater: “Gabriel” will be performed at Historic Hanover Tavern from September 26 through November 9, 2025. This is an updated version by the creative team responsible for the 2022 production performed at the Firehouse Theater in Richmond. More about this version and tickets can be found at AtlasPartnership.org.
Libation Ceremony: Rev. Rodney Waller, creative director Desiree Roots, and lead actor Jerold Solomon will conduct a libation ceremony at Spring Park, Henrico County in September to honor Gabriel and all who attempted to end slavery that August in 1800 and paid with their lives or freedom. A press release with details will be posted at AtlasPartnership.org.
Announcement! The Black Heritage Preservation Alliance (BHPA) is a newly formed group of advocates and technical experts in the fields of research, genealogy, archaeology, historical biology, anthropology, education, and social justice. Initial projects of this group and their allies are support for the city's proposed Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan and a survey of Richmond historic Black sites to document existence, condition, and SWOT analysis for strategic preservation goals and priorities. The BHPA meets monthly and is working on a listserv.
