In downtown Richmond, Virginia, you’ll find Shockoe Bottom, the hallowed site of both the city’s oldest burial ground for free and enslaved black people and also its antebellum slave market—the second largest in the United States, where 350,000 women, men, and children were sold into slavery between 1830 and 1865.

Right now, the City of Richmond is creating a land-use plan for the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood that will guide its future growth. So far, however, the City has failed to incorporate the Memorial Park into Shockoe’s land-use plan. And if the proposed park isn’t in the City’s plan, then the park may never be built—and this important history will be truly erased.

As featured in a recent New Yorker magazine article, the National Trust and its partners support creating a Memorial Park in Shockoe Bottom that combines commemoration, education, and equitable economic revitalization.

We encourage you to ask Richmond's Mayor Levar Stoney to publicly endorse the Memorial Park and demonstrate that Shockoe Bottom is sacred ground worthy of protection.

Please personalize your message and share why Shockoe Bottom matters to you. Thank you for adding your voice and supporting this place of national significance.