Hey, Richmond,  

It’s your mayor, Danny. As we close out Black History Month, I have a single story I want to share with you today. It’s the story of Richmond’s historical African American cemeteries and the people who have dedicated years of their lives to reclaiming these sacred spaces.  

It’s also a story of what happens when committed community members bring their needs to local government—and local government listens. I have been particularly proud to witness the work our Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has done to listen these partners and to step into this reclamation work by centering their experience and wisdom.  

In short, it’s the story of Richmond at its finest—what happens when we determine together that we are ready to learn from and reckon with our history and to uplift the stories and lives that history all but erased.  

As you meet the Friends of East End, the Parks and Rec cemetery maintenance crew, and the Richmond Descendants Council below, I hope you’ll reflect on the role we all play in creating a city that can support that work. And yes, part of that support is financial. With a budget introduction around the corner, one way you can continue supporting important initiatives like this one is by getting and staying informed about the City’s budget process so that you can advocate for the issues that matter most to your communities. There are two more opportunities to participate in our Budget Town Halls this Saturday, February 28, and if you can’t make it in person, you can complete a virtual option and survey to share your budget priorities. It’s all available to you at go.rva.gov/engage--visit to participate in the survey or to register for a town hall. I’ll hope to see you there!  

-Danny 

The first day that Brian Palmer and his wife Erin Hollaway visited East End Cemetery, they entered an area they’d previously assumed was just second growth forest.  

“It was December 13, 2014, and there were hunters there,” Brian recalls. “They had this sense of entitlement in this sacred space. But just because a cemetery is overgrown doesn’t mean it’s been desacrilized or turned into a hunting ground. So the police escorted the hunters out and the Boy Scouts we were with came in.” 

Brian was there to take photos and record audio, but Erin jumped in to help pull vines. And then she convinced Brian to return to pull vines. And then she convinced him to go back again.  

“That’s when we realized, this isn’t just extreme gardening. When you read the headstones, you begin to recognize what has been nearly erased with structural neglect. It was a revelation to me, to see people who were, in some distant sense, my distant ancestors. And actually, Erin discovered two of my ancestors later. We realized if we just cleared the brush, what would happen? It would grow back up. What mattered was to clear the brush, reclaim the stories, and tell people that these are sites of history and memory and they are critical to understanding our city, our state, and our nation. That’s what’s driven us through all of these years.” 

Cemeteries like East End and Evergreen, along with their counterparts at Forest View, Shockoe Hill, and Barton Heights, were established in the 19th century for both enslaved and free African Americans. They’re designated as “inactive” spaces either because they are full or because they’ve fallen into disrepair, the effect of decades of underfunding and minimal to no care.  

Cemeteries like East End and Evergreen were established in Richmond after 1865. They were established for the Black community, including formerly enslaved people, because white segregationist governments enacted laws that segregated races in both life and death. “Jim Crow followed African Americans to the grave,” Brian says. “Black folk didn’t set up these burial grounds just because they simply wanted a place of their own but because they were actively excluded from burial grounds closer to the city.”  

Info box: In 2017, the Virginia General Assembly passed some of the first legislation to grant funding to African American burial sites, while Confederate cemeteries had accessed similar funding since the Civil War. That funding history is an important foundation for understanding the differences in appearances between East End, Evergreen, and historically white cemeteries like Hollywood.  

By the time Brian and Erin arrived at East End, efforts to restore and protect African American cemeteries were years old. Brian credits National Park Service ranger Jim Bell, now retired, and Marvin Harris, founder of the restoration effort at Henrico County’s Woodland Cemetery, with early work to restore Evergreen, and John Shuck began what would eventually become Friends of East End in 2013. But while the labor was there, the institutional support wasn’t. 

“The Friends realized that the only force that could clear and then maintain these cemeteries would be a public institution,” Brian says. “When a city, a state, a nation owns a cemetery, they take on the responsibility.” 

Wrapped up in the soil of these places: The Descendants Council of Greater Richmond Virginia  

Another group was coming to the same realization that public governance was necessary. Maurice Fountain, current Secretary of the Descendants Council of Greater Richmond Virginia says the Council formed in 2020 largely “in response to issues with the prior ownership at Evergreen and East End.” President Peighton Young agrees: “Before 2024, a lot of responsibility for maintaining these spaces had fallen on an owner that wasn’t stewarding the sites or resources well. The City came in in 2024 and had the foundation of being a publicly accountable institution.” 

Peighton explains that the Descendants Council advocates and educates. They work with partners from the city to our universities to conduct research, and develop signage and memorialization strategies, and they do so from a place of lived experience and family history.  

“Descendants’ lineage is wrapped up in the soil of these places,” Maurice says. “Having the voices of those who have those direct connections is important. They can give the perspective of how they want their ancestors to be honored and remembered as the spaces are maintained.” 

Organizations working with and in the cemeteries have a lot of overlap—Maurice is a member of the Descendants Council and Friends of East End, for example—but before 2023, one important partner was missing from the table.  

“The biggest change was when the City acquired Evergreen, East End, and Forest View, and having Parks and Rec be the point of contact and making connections with the Council and the Friends,” says Peighton. “There’s been improvement in relationships and communication. There are obviously groups that have been at these places for years now, and the bolstering of city resources has helped with progress. We’re building lasting relationships where the generations after us won’t have to deal with the same kinds of problems.” 

The new chapter: City of Richmond ownership and collaboration  

By 2022, the nonprofit Enrichmond, which had owned or managed several of these spaces had dissolved. Prior to its dissolution, community members were already voicing concern about the organization’s management of these sacred sites.  

“Friends of East End had devoted itself to holding the Enrichmond Foundation accountable,” Brian, who’s also a cofounder of the Descendants Council, says. “City, state, and federal agencies were all funding it, which was disconcerting to us, since it wasn’t meeting the needs of these very important memorial sites. We wanted public officials to explain why they kept funding these people. After a while, the City of Richmond really came around. And this is what is so wonderful and remarkable about the City of Richmond but particularly Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities: They listened. They talked with us. We talked  a lot . They handed over records that explained to us what was going on. And then the City made the decision to cut off funding. That cleared the way, I think for the responsible management of these sites.” 

But the City didn’t just step in. Peighton recalls that in 2023, the Descendants, the Friends, and other community members began meeting with the Parks and Rec team once or twice a month. “Within the first couple of sessions, we created a series of committees that were hybrids of City officials, Friends organizations, the Descendants Council, and some affiliate supporters like the Richmond Cemetery Collaboratory. We created a legal committee to make sure the title transfer was finalized. And all of these people became new team members. We got to start with a clean slate in the midst of a project that has had challenges.”  

Brian thanks Parks and Rec Director Chris Frelke and City Councilmember Cynthia Newbille for spearheading this effort. “We give credit where credit is due: They were ready to listen, talk, and discuss, and figure out with us what was in the realm of possibility for these long abused but incredibly valuable jewels of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation.” 

Chris Frelke echoes the value of listening and committing to this work: “This is one of the most important responsibilities I have as a Director is to help steward these spaces to where they need to be. It’s such a powerful story of how the city and the state are trying to atone for what’s happened. These sacred burial grounds need to be a place of healing,” he says. “I think our community partners realize that they have the muscle of the City behind them, so we’re really making a lot of progress and headway.”  

Councilmember Newbille, who represents Richmond's East End 7th District, also celebrates the partnership and progress. "Reclaiming, restoring, maintaining, and preserving our sacred historic African American cemeteries, where our city's ancestors were laid to rest, requires on-going collaboration and action. I am proud and supportive of the collaboration of our City, Friends groups, the Descendants Council, residents, and other stakeholders who continue to share in this righteous and hallowed mission." 

Cemetery maintenance at the City of Richmond  

One of the tasks of the community groups assembled during those early dialogues in 2023 was to support the hiring process for a Cemeteries team at the City. The job was no easy feat: Each person who works at the cemeteries is equal parts groundskeeping expert, archivist, and storyteller. They understand that the work they do, whether it’s clearing brush or fighting off invasive species, is really about honoring the lives that came to rest in these places. 

“The African American history and culture of these spaces have been largely forgotten,” says Kimberly Jackson, the City of Richmond’s Community Engagement Manager for the Cemeteries program. “These are sites of memory, markers of systemic racism and resilience. Our ancestry needs to be known and recognized. We all take pride in our work and love what we do.” 

The dedicated cemetery maintenance crew manages almost a hundred acres of cemetery space across the city. These spaces include active cemeteries that still accept burials, as well as inactive cemeteries like East End, Evergreen, Forest View, and Barton Heights, among others. 

Maxfield Shea is the senior groundskeeper for the cemeteries. “Across the country, historically African American cemeteries have experienced disruptions to care due to racist public policies and development intended to harm black communities,” he explains. “There is now a broad movement to engage communities restoring these spaces.” 

In the summer, groundskeepers like Maxfield, Rashawn Jones, and Zyon Wyatt cut grass and perform general maintenance. In the winter, they can turn their attention to restorative efforts. Zyon has been with the team since 2020. When he started, his team was tasked with restorations efforts at Oakwood Cemetery. Now, he spends most of his time at Evergreen Cemetery. The team explains that the physical labor can be strenuous (not to mention filled with bugs, bees, and the occasional snake) but that uncovering new headstones and reconnecting them with living descendants make the hard work worthwhile. 

“It’s important to uphold the integrity of this history and for the city to keep it alive,” Rashawn shares. “People like Maggie Walker (Evergreen) and Annie Giles (Oakwood) deserve recognition for all they’ve done. When I go out there, I keep that in mind. It feels good to be a part of what’s right.” 

Peighton also credits this team with equipping community members and the Descendants Council in particular with the new tools and information. “They’ve hosted invasive plant species seminars for us so we can make better informed decisions about what needs to be cut back and left from both an ecological and cultural perspective. Between late 2022 and now the difference from my perspective has been night and day. Kimberly and her team really make themselves resources and presences.”  

Volunteer Program Coordinator Priscilla Wright works with community groups and volunteers who want to support the massive project. During the MLK Day of Service in January, volunteers went to many cemetery locations, including Forest View Cemetery to help sort and catalog objects that have been located there. They found things like seashells, bottles, and children’s toys. “You would think it’s an empty lot,” said Priscilla. “But these things aren’t just trash. We’re archiving everything just in case a family left things—like a favorite drink or a newspaper clipping—at a gravesite. Cataloging them is a critical first step in making sure they are preserved responsibly and interpreted with dignity and accuracy.” 

Looking forward: Telling the story  

Everyone who spends time at East End, Evergreen, or another African American cemetery in Richmond comes away with the same reflection: the physical labor of clearing and the deep community work of reinvigorating the stories of folks buried in these spaces go hand in hand.  

“We’ve always considered the reclamation and restoration to be a two-pronged thing,” Brian says. “The physical work of weeding and hauling out garbage, that’s one part. But for the work to really resonate and having meaning, you have to reclaim the stories of the people who are buried there and trace their connection.” He recalls a day working with City maintenance crews when Maxfield calculated that their team had cleared 11,000 pounds of brush. What that really meant was that more families had access to their loved ones’ gravesites. 

“What an opportunity to show who Richmond was from the 1890s to the time where they fell into disrepair. It’s a rich story, and it contains plenty of tragedy but also tremendous amounts of wonder,” Brian reflects. 

To be a part of the story now is the call for all Richmonders. Everyone, no matter your skill set, can play a role in reclaiming and re-narrating our city’s history, and that’s possible because of the sustained collaboration across institutions, organizations, and community members.  

Brian says that even if you’re not physically able to volunteer, learning about the progress and paying our respects to these sites are important contributions. “What we need now is for people to understand that there is genuine collaboration and that whatever happened in the past is in the past. That’s as simple and as basic as I can put it. There will be no miraculous, marvelous transformation, but we’ve been chugging away and it really is wonderful now to have a government partner that is taking that restoration seriously.”  

What’s up next?  These organizations are currently collaborating on Cultural Landscape Studies at Forest View and East End/Evergreen to plan ahead for their preservation. Kimberly most wants residents to know that “reclamation doesn’t happen overnight. This work is years in the making.” The Descendants Council is also working on new signage for some of the cemetery sites to help visitors make sense of what they experience.  

How do I learn more about the Friends or the Descendants Council?  Visit their social media presences (@descendantscouncil and @friendsofeastend on Instagram) or the Friends of East End website. You can also contact the Friends of East End at friendsofeastend@gmail.com or the Descendants Council at descendantscouncilva@gmail.com.  

How can I support?  “Volunteers aren’t just cleaning a site—you’re contributing to the long-term preservation of Richmond’s history and helping build a more complete historical record,” Priscilla says. If you want to participate, check out and sign up for available opportunities at www.cfengage.org. You can also contact Priscilla (804-646-4329; priscilla.wright3@rva.gov) or Kimberly (804-646-7104; kimberly.jackson2@rva.gov) for group or corporate opportunities. 

Thank you!  The Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities extends its deepest gratitude to the dedicated volunteers who continue to support the reclamation and preservation of these sacred burial grounds. Your commitment, compassion, and willingness to serve ensure that these sites are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Through your partnership, Richmond’s history is being preserved with care, integrity, and reverence for generations to come. 

Evergreen and East End through the years

1891: Evergreen Cemetery founded. 

1897: East End Cemetery established.  

2013: Volunteer clean-up efforts begin at East End Cemetery, led by John Shuck.  

2017: Friends of East End established as an all-volunteer non-profit. 

2019: Friends of East End reaches more than 10,000 volunteer visits at the cemetery. 

2020-2021:  The Descendants Council of Greater Richmond Virginia organizes to assert the rights of relatives of the deceased laid to rest at East End Cemetery—then privately owned—and members of the broader African American community to have a role in determining the burial ground’s future.  

2022: The Enrichmond Foundation—a non-profit organization with management over Evergreen, East End, and Forest View cemeteries—dissolves.  

2023: The City of Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities begins hosting community conversations to figure out the best next step for ownership and maintenance of the spaces.  

2024: The City of Richmond assumes ownership of East End, Evergreen, and Forest View Cemeteries. City leadership continues dialogue with Friends of East End, the Descendants Council, and other concerned citizens. City workers join the Friends in the hands-on work of reclaiming and restoring the cemeteries.  

2025: Launch of the City of Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities’ Cemeteries Community Engagement Program. The City hires dedicated staff to care for its inactive burial grounds, strengthening long-term maintenance, preservation, and community partnership efforts.