Documentary evidence suggests that a burial ground of enslaved people exists on the land the University of Richmond’s campus now occupies, which was a plantation prior to 1865. The presence of the burial ground, known as the Westham Burying Ground, has implications about UR’s past and present that require care and attention from our campus community.
By engaging the UR community in conversations on the human bondage that formed the land our campus occupies, The Collegian will help the campus interrogate the ways that institutional racism affects Black students, faculty, staff and community members since UR's founding in 1830 through today.
In a continuation of The Collegian's investigation of memorialization on campus, we explored the life and legacy of T. Justin Moore. Moore and his law firm represented a Virginia school county’s policy of maintaining racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine in the Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County court case, one of five cases which would become Brown v. Board of Education. To learn more about school segregation in Virginia, listen below.
MULTIPLE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN VIRGINIA WITH DEMONSTRATED CONNECTIONS TO SLAVERY HAVE UNDERTAKEN MEMORIALIZATION EFFORTS IN RECENT YEARS. THE COLLEGIAN SPOKE WITH KIRT VON DAACKE ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA'S MEMORIALIZATION EFFORTS. TO SEE HOW UVA ENGAGED WITH ITS HISTORY, CHECK OUT "THE WAYS TO MEMORIALIZE" BY MAEVE MCCORMICK BELOW.
UR's memorialization of Robert Ryland and Douglas Southall Freeman have prompted critical conversations about the men's legacies among the UR student body and community. The Collegian investigated these legacies, which have been connected to slavery and white supremacy, along with perspectives about memorialization at UR and beyond in The Westham Project's new podcast series featured below.
The Collegian's work on The Westham Project will be completed as a part of the Poynter Institute’s College Media Project. The report will be ongoing, and will evolve as The Collegian evolves as a newspaper committed to representing every member of our campus.
Reporting done by Morgan Howland, Olivia Diaz, Emma Davis, Jackie Llanos Hernandez, Susanna Getis, Maeve McCormick, Nina Joss, Grace Kiernan, Gedd Constable, Mia Lazar and Eileen Pomeroy. Contributions by Mysia Perry and Jordyn Lofton. Photos by Ben Wasserstein. Project Advisers: Joe Williams, Brian Palmer and Wonbo Woo.
For inquiries about the project contact westhamproject@gmail.com