Prince William County: Group sues over desecration of Black burial grounds

The Coalition to Save Historic Thoroughfare announced last week that a judge in Prince William County Circuit Court ruled a lawsuit against the county and The Farm Brewery at Broad Run can move forward.

The coalition was founded to challenge the alleged ongoing desecration of Black and Native American cemeteries in Thoroughfare, Va. Judge James A. Willett ruled that the case could move forward to a potential jury trial.

“First and foremost, we stand on the same solid ground of trust and faith in God that our ancestors stood upon. Our prayers have been answered. The voices of our loved ones in the Scott Cemetery finally were heard with a decision of justice,” said Coalition to Save Historic Thoroughfare Founder and Spokesman Frank Washington.

Washington called the judge’s decision as the “first step toward accountability for the desecration of slaves, freedmen and Native American burial grounds in Thoroughfare.” He said the coalition called on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a federal hate crime investigation into what the coalition said is illegal disturbances to historic burial sites.

Thoroughfare is an historic Native American and Black community with roots dating hundreds of years ago. Originally a Native American community, in the 1800s freed Black slaves began to settle in the area and a vibrant mixed-race community was established. Today, Thoroughfare is centered around Oakrum Baptist Church, and the descendants of the founders still call Thoroughfare home.

When developers purchased land containing the three major Thoroughfare cemeteries and, early in 2021, destroyed the Scott Cemetery, blocked access to the Potters Field Cemetery and threatened the Fields/Allen Cemetery with development, the Coalition to Save Historic Thoroughfare formed to protect the cemeteries and to preserve the history of Thoroughfare.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors agreed to purchase a two-acre parcel to begin the process of preserving the heritage of the Thoroughfare community. However, the county then stripped the family of the burial rights that have been held for more than a century and will no longer allow them to rest beside their ancestors.