 Beloved Community Cville held a “Slave Auction Block Vigil” on Sunday, March 1st at the Historic Court Square in downtown Charlottesville to acknowledge the trauma which took place there and to honor local enslaved ancestors. The experience of the descendants, and their enslaved ancestors, was at the forefront of the event and was brought alive through song, prayer, story-telling, reading of names, and ritual.  Dr. Jalane Schmidt and Don Gathers welcomes the vigil participants. Photo credit: Beth Cheuk/Beloved Community Cville Don Gathers, Organizer with Beloved Community Cville, gave an introduction to the vigil: “On this first night of the week’s observances of Liberation & Freedom Day, we are acknowledging & honoring the enslaved ancestors of our city and county. This solemn event is a reminder of the pain and trauma of the enslaved community — who were the majority of area residents. Tonight, we descend to the depths of pain before we celebrate, on Tuesday, the beginnings of emancipation.” Professor Jalane Schmidt described the route for the vigil and reminded the crowd of the solemnity of the occasion. “We are going to walk around this corner of Court Square and stop at 3 stations where local enslaved people were bought and sold, before we return here to the Courthouse to conclude our vigil.” She said that the descendants should go first and be up front, if they so wish, because “we are honoring their ancestors.” Video credit: Michael Cheuk  PHoto credit: Michael Cheuk/Beloved Community Cville Participants began by walking to the former site of Eagle Tavern where, Myra Anderson, a sixth-generation descendant of the Hern family, who were enslaved at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson, read aloud the names of the 33 people who were sold there. Four enslaved families were torn apart to pay Jefferson’s debts after his death in 1829. The sale was the largest in Charlottesville’s recorded history and included some of Myra’s ancestors. Video credit: Michael Cheuk  Rev. Carolyn Dillard prayers. Photo credit: Beth Cheuk/Beloved Community Cville Rev. Carolyn Dillard, the Associate Minister of Zion Hill Baptist Church of Keswick, then offered a prayer for the 33 enslaved people who were named and their descendants. She also extended prayers to the white oppressors, asking for an end to their destructive superiority. Video credit: Michael Cheuk The next reflection location was where the slave auction marker was located until it was stolen in early February. “It is not an accident that there are tall Confederate statues across the street, while this plaque was buried in the ground,” Don Gathers, Beloved Community Cville Organizer later said. “That power imbalance must be addressed.” The gathering listened to a portion of a 1949 interview with Fountain Hughes, a 101-year-old formerly enslaved Charlottesville man. The voice of Hughes was projected throughout the square, recounting the pain of the enslaved local people just over a century and a half ago. Video credit: Michael Cheuk  Rev. Xavier Jackson. Photo credit: Beth Cheuk/Beloved Community Cville. After a moment of silent reflection, Rev. Xavier Jackson, pastor of the Chapman Grove Baptist Church, beautifully expressed the mood of the gathering with a sung meditation. Video credit: Michael Cheuk At the former location of Swan Tavern, Cauline Yates, descendant of Sally Hemings' sister, Mary, read aloud the 1852 letter by Maria Perkins, an enslaved woman from Charlottesville. In the letter she begs her enslaved husband to try to find a buyer for her before she can be brought by a slave trader during upcoming court days, and she laments that her son Albert had already been sold at the Albemarle County Courthouse. “This was the seat of law, your courthouse in Albemarle County, and just across the corner was where the slave block was,” Cauline Yates, a descendant of the Hemings family, later commented. Video credit: Michael Cheuk  Apostle Kelley sings. Photo credit: Beth Cheuk/Beloved Community Cville. Following the reading of this desperate letter, Apostle Sarah Kelley said a few words and sang, “Trouble of the World.” She is a Charlottesville native, and pastor and founder of Faith, Hope and Love International Healing and Deliverance Center. Video credit: Michael Cheuk  Photo credit: Michael Cheuk/Beloved Community Cville The vigil was concluded at the steps of the Courthouse where Rev. Brenda Brown-Grooms invited descendants to come forward to ladle out a libation to the ancestors, as she sang, “I Told Jesus” and “Wade in the Water”. Rev. Brenda is a Charlottesville native and co-pastor of New Beginnings Christian Community. Video credit: Michael Cheuk Don Gathers ended the vigil by offering a benediction. Video credit: Michael Cheuk MEDIA COVERAGE and ARTICLES NBC29 - Slave auction block vigil honors enslaved ancestors as Liberation and Freedom Day celebrations begin.
CBS19 - Vigil honors local enslaved ancestors. Daily Progress - Photos of the Vigil. The Cavalier Daily - Community gathers for vigil honoring people sold as slaves in Charlottesville. Culpeper Star-Exponent - Vigil Sunday at Slave Auction Block site in C’ville. The Washington Post - Charlottesville won’t celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. It will mark slavery’s end instead. Article by Professor Jalane Schmidt - Humans Were Sold Here:
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