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Jennifer McClellan
U.S. Congresswoman | VA-04

Increased Funding for Historical African American Cemeteries

Idea Category: Equity & Opportunity

Problem

African American cemeteries contain fundamental stories, landscapes, artwork, and ancestry traces. Regrettably, African American cemeteries suffer from a number of preservation issues, such as challenges from industrial and infrastructural development, neglect, vandalism, damage and degradation, and insufficient legal protection.

Solution

Senator Jennifer McClellan’s bill to protect and preserve historical African American cemeteries will allow the state's Historical African American Cemeteries and Graves Fund to incorporate cemeteries established prior to 1948, the date the Supreme Court ended racially segregated cemeteries. Previously, only sites dating back prior to 1900 were eligible. This new law will allow these cemeteries to receive funding to care for and restore the land and gravesites. Additionally, this legislation will supply a sufficient amount of grave markers for all African Americans buried in these cemeteries.