Shockoe Bottom: Sacred Space or Economic Opportunity Video - by Dawn Smith
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This video tells the story of the struggle of the Richmond, VA community to stop a baseball stadium from being built on top of the burial siete of our African Ancestors. Shockoe Bottom was the location of the largest slave trade operation in the U.S. in the 1800's. The video features interviews with key players in the struggle: Marty Jewell, former city councilman, Phil Wilyato and Anna Edwards, creators of the Sacred Ground Reclamation Project, Monica Esperanza, head of the African Ancestral Chamber and others.
Video is now available for $20.00. Running time is 44 minutes. Checks and money orders can be sent to Dawn Smith, P.O. Box 25095, Richmond, VA 3260. [email protected] |
Saving Shockoe Bottom - www.sacredgroundproject.net
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Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality hold Press Conference
On Thursday, Dec. 10, designated by the United Nations as Human Rights Day, people with special ties to Richmond history held a press conference in Richmond at the site of Lumpkin's Jail to press the case for a nine-acre Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park. |
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Speakers
Ana Edwards – Chair, Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, her ancestors include two women sold from Richmond in the 1840s.
Elizabeth Cann Kambourian – Richmond Historia, rediscovered the existence of the African Burial Ground and has identified nearly 100 sites related to the Shockoe Bottom slave trade.
John Mitchell – Grandson of John Mitchell Jr., the “Fighting Editor” of the Richmond Planet newspaper.
Vera J. Williams– Descendant of Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years a Slave; Founder and President, Solomon Northup Foundation.
Ana Edwards – Chair, Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, her ancestors include two women sold from Richmond in the 1840s.
Elizabeth Cann Kambourian – Richmond Historia, rediscovered the existence of the African Burial Ground and has identified nearly 100 sites related to the Shockoe Bottom slave trade.
John Mitchell – Grandson of John Mitchell Jr., the “Fighting Editor” of the Richmond Planet newspaper.
Vera J. Williams– Descendant of Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years a Slave; Founder and President, Solomon Northup Foundation.
Shockoe Bottom/ National Trusts Saving Places...
Shockoe Bottom was the center of Richmond’s slave trade, which played a pivotal role during the peak years of the nation’s interstate slave trade. In fact, Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years a Slave, was held here in 1841 at the notorious Goodwin’s slave jail before he was transported in chains to New Orleans. Much of Shockoe Bottom has since been razed and paved over, nearly forgotten by mainstream historians. Nevertheless, for many descendants of the enslaved, Shockoe Bottom remains sacred ground associated with suffering, injustice, and resistance to slavery. Today, Shockoe Bottom is an urban archaeological site imminently threatened by “Revitalize RVA,” the controversial plan to construct a minor league baseball stadium, a Hyatt hotel, a Kroger grocery store, and residential and commercial office space at the site. The ill-considered stadium project, which is heavily promoted by the mayor of Richmond, members of the City Council, and influential real estate developers, threatens to destroy the remarkable archaeological remains which survive below the asphalt. www.savingplaces.org/treasures/shockoe-bottom#.U6qzUo3D_cs
Descendants of Solomon Northup oppose development of Baseball Stadium
April 3, 2014 in Richmond, VA descendant Linsey Williams hosts Liberation Day; also in attendance was descendant Justin Gilliam and his daughter Azalea. During the event at the Goodwin Slave Jail, also the site for the proposed minor league baseball stadium, Linsey read apart of Solomon Northup's experience from his book Twelve Years a Slave.
For more information; http://shockoebottom.blogspot.com/2014/03/solomon-northup-descendant-linsey.html
For more information; http://shockoebottom.blogspot.com/2014/03/solomon-northup-descendant-linsey.html
