Racism in Loudoun Again: Black Cemetery Desecrated, Gravesite of Son of @NAACP President Targeted
ANOTHER STORY OF RACISM IN LOUDOUN. Loudoun, Virginia has seen a steady stream of news stories regarding racist acts in the community. The latest story of racism in Loudoun occurred this week with the desecration of an African American cemetery. The specific target was the gravesite of Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas, the son of Loudoun NAACP President Michelle Thomas.
Fitz Thomas, 16, drowned to death in June 2020. His tragic death was made even more tragic by the fact that 911 sent help to the wrong location.
As Loudoun NAACP President, Pastor Michelle Thomas has been active in the community for years. Racist attacks in Loudoun are not a new story — and have now become routine. The latest racist incident, the desecration of the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved At Belmont, has police again investigating, but not solving, yet another act of anti-Black racism in Loudoun. The run-of-show after each racist event in Loudoun has become informal ritual: Vigils, community gatherings, candlelight events — all typically organized by the targets of the hatred.
A GoFundMe has set up to pay for the damage to the gravesite of Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas by the Loudoun Freedom Center, which maintains the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont. They plan to repair the site and set up surveillance.
Loudoun County is one of the wealthiest locations in Virginia — it also may be one of the most racist in the Commonwealth. News of anti-Black racism and anti-semitism in the county has been in the headlines, particularly over the last ten years, on a regular basis. Few, if any, other locations in Virginia have held such a negative distinction. This latest episode of anti-Black bigotry features the desecration of a historic Black gravesite and specifically the grave of the son of a local NAACP President. What comes next no one knows. What appears certain is: Something racist will happen again.
There are too many examples of stories of racism in Loudoun County, Virginia to list. A few include the following:
In October 2016, the historic Ashburn Colored School in Loudoun was vandalized with white supremacist graffiti. In Sept. 2019, Loudoun’s School was prompted to condemn racism after a study demonstrated Black students were dealing with a “hostile learning environment.” In June 2020, a series of racist posts on social media prompted school officials in Loudoun to investigate. In July 2021, Loudoun was in the news on racism again as the issue of race and equity was re-labeled “critical race theory.” In May 2022, there was a reported spike in racist hate speech in Loudoun. In December 2022, a Loudoun shopping center was vandalized with racist words and swastikas. In January 2023, racist and anti-Semitic flyers were once again reported in Loudoun. In February 2023, racist writings were again discovered at a public school. Now in March 2023, the desecration of a historic Black cemetery.
The longtime Sheriff in Loudoun is Michael Chapman. Chapman was elected Sheriff of Loudoun County in 2011 and reelected in 2015 and again in 2019. He began his third term in 2020. His office is investigating the latest racism in Loudoun.
At some point between March 15th and March 20th, vandals desecrated the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont. The site is the final resting place of over 100 formerly enslaved African Americans.
“The Thomas family welcomes all prayers, but in this moment we need our legislators on the local, state and federal level to pray with their pens and start writing policy to protect people from terroristic acts of hate, vandalism and intimidation. That’s how you can stand with our family and support us!” Pastor Thomas wrote on her Facebook page on March 21.
“Horrifying. Loudoun has been a hot spot for hate speech vandalism. Attempts to change legislation in Richmond were unsuccessful but I’m thankful Suhas Subramanyam tried. Time to get some teeth behind hate crime legislation in Loudoun,” wrote Amanda Golino on social media on March 22.
🚩 RELATED: Racist graffiti attack on historic black school in Virginia. (Oct. 2016 - BBC)
🚩 RELATED: Stack: Racism is alive and well in Loudoun County. It always has been. (June 2020 - Loudoun Times-Mirror)
🚩 RELATED: Virginia School District Apologizes for Historical Racism. (Sept. 2020 - Colorlines)
🚩 RELATED: What Does Racism Look Like in Loudoun County? (April 2021 - LoudounNow)
“The Sheriff’s record of action in civil rights violations is uneven, to say the least. Let’s hope that LCSO acts vigorously to bring the vandals to justice,” wrote Julia Holcomb in response to Golino.
As incidents of anti-Black racism in Loudoun have appeared regularly in the news, some wonder: Is racial progress spiking racist incidents in Loudoun County? Loudoun is 9 percent Black and has three Blacks on their Board of Supervisors including the Chairwoman, Phyllis Randall. The Board’s Vice Chair, Koran Saines, is also Black. Sylvia Glass, a Black woman, also severed on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors. Over 50 percent of the kids in Loudoun Public Schools are “minorities” as calculated in the general population.
From DCist: Loudoun County Schools Are Grappling With Racism – and Garnering National Attention, July 15, 2021: Robin Reaves Burke, the NAACP Loudoun Branch chair of education and second vice-president, is the parent of a high schooler in Loudoun County. She’s dismayed by what she sees at meetings, in the media, and from fellow parents.
“The NAACP has been fighting systemic racism in Loudoun County Public Schools for 80 years,” she says. “We didn’t hear… any discontent about the way the equity work was going until critical race theory was politicized. It makes me feel as a parent that I can not believe that the equity work has been hijacked for political gain.”
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