The Coalition to Save Historic Thoroughfare will hold a protest this Saturday, April 23, against the alleged ongoing desecration of African-American and Native American cemeteries in Thoroughfare, Va. These cemeteries are the resting places of slaves, freed slaves, free men and women, and Indigenous people who lived in the community prior to, during, and after the Civil War.

Once a thriving community of Black and Indigenous people, Thoroughfare’s history has been overwhelmingly forgotten in Prince William County except for those who still live there. Recently, PW Perspective covered the ongoing issues facing the Thoroughfare community and the families who have called it home for generations.

The protest will take place at the historic Scott Cemetery, which sits on a plot of land owned by The Farm Brewery at Broad Run. Starting at 3:30 p.m., protesters will hold a short rally, followed by a peaceful protest across from the brewery.

The community is now home to the descendants of the same families who lived there decades ago. Recently, members of the community have been struggling to reclaim three community cemeteries purchased by developers.  

Since purchasing the land, the brewery has repeatedly and unlawfully bulldozed, graded, and landscaped the cemetery, and, according to the Washington family, the owners are currently trying to claim that the Scott Cemetery does not even exist despite historical records stating otherwise.