On the University of Richmond campus, a once-overlooked site was identified as a burying ground for enslaved individuals bound to the land’s pre-Civil War owners. In response to a 2019 report documenting the site’s history and desecration during early campus development, the university formed a Memorialization Committee to aid in a community-driven design process. Through descendant engagement, public gatherings, and deep research, the team shaped a memorial rooted in remembrance and respect.

Intended as a place of memory, mourning, reflection, sanctuary, solace, healing, ceremony, and collective action, the final design allows visitors to reflect on both individual and collective histories while considering their lasting impacts. It is both a memorial to those enslaved and a cemetery for loved ones lost. Incorporating water, stone, and metal, the design includes a story wall, art, poetry, and symbolic plantings to tell an inclusive history.

Bronze Adinkra symbols from Akan tradition—Gye Nyame (spiritual strength), Sankofa (learning from the past), Nkonsonkonso (community connection), and Eban (protection and love)—mark the entry and overlook, anchoring the space in cultural heritage. Etched into granite, composite portraits of a man, woman, and child—hand-drawn taking inspiration from descendant family photographs—bring a human presence to the space, standing in for the many ancestors whose faces were never recorded. In collaboration with Waterstreet Studio, the landscape evokes traditional burial practices, with yucca and periwinkle marking memory and a laurel hedgerow creating a living boundary of protection. At the heart of the site stands a new seedling from the 200-year-old “Witness Tree,” a white oak that bore silent witness to the lives and labors of the enslaved. As the original tree nears the end of its life, its progeny now roots in this memorial ground—an enduring symbol of remembrance.