Bill Would Allow Woodland Cemetery and Other Cemeteries Created From 1900-1948 to Qualify for State Funding

On Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) signed Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s (D-Richmond) and Del. Delores McQuinn’s (D-Richmond) bills (SB 477 and HB 140) to expand eligibility for state-funded restoration and preservation of historic African-American cemeteries to include cemeteries opened between 1900 and 1948. The bills will go into effect on July 1.

McClellan’s and McQuinn’s bills both passed the House and Senate unanimously during the legislative session. The Governor is expected to sign the companion bill before the deadline on April 11.

Del. McQuinn and Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) sponsored bills in 2020 that created the Virginia Historical African American Cemeteries and Graves Fund, which provides state grants through the Virginia Department of Historical Resources for care and maintenance of historic African-American cemeteries and graves. Prior to McClellan and McQuinn’s 2022 bill, only cemeteries that were established prior to 1900 were eligible for state funding. 

The new bill changes the eligibility date from 1900 to 1948, the year in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racially segregated cemeteries. This will make preservation funding available for cemeteries such as Woodland Cemetery, a historic African-American cemetery founded in 1917 in Henrico County by civil rights leader and publisher John Mitchell, Jr. Volunteers, non-profit organizations and local leaders have been working on restoring the cemetery, where tennis legend Arthur Ashe and Rev. John Jasper are buried.

“I’m honored to work with Delegate McQuinn and community leaders in expanding access to resources for preserving Virginia’s history,” McClellan said. “Community leaders at cemeteries such as Woodland Cemetery in Henrico County have done heroic work in restoring graves. These bills will help provide support for restoration efforts at Woodland and across the Commonwealth.”

“The signing of HB 140 and SB 477 is creating another opportunity to address centuries of challenges as a result of systemic racism from birth to the grave in Black Communities across our Commonwealth,” said Del. McQuinn. “These places had long been abandoned and treated as ‘out of sight, therefore out of mind.’ The passage of this legislation helps to ensure equitable funding and maintenance to these sacred historical places.” Pinco Casino, Türkiye’nin en heyecan verici online casino platformu olarak sizlere eşsiz bir oyun deneyimi sunuyor. En popüler slot oyunları, canlı casino atmosferi ve cazip bonuslar ile Pinco Türkiye’nin en gözde adresi! Şimdi kayıt olun ve şansınıza şans katın. Pinco casino ile eğlence dolu bir maceraya hazır mısınız?

“Together, we’ve worked to bring dignity to the 30,000 people interred at Woodland Cemetery,” said Marvin Harris, executive director of the Evergreen Restoration Foundation, which runs Woodland Cemetery. “We have been blessed with support from the Henrico community  and volunteers, but we’re in a race against time to preserve the history at Woodland Cemetery. This legislation will help provide critical support to speed up the restoration and preservation of this important history.”