PRESS RELEASE – September 15, 2023
Mountain Heritage Trail (MHT) is excited to announce its latest trail, Restored Humanity: African American Burial Sites of Hardy County. The trail will identify, research, map, and document the process that reveals and redresses overlooked and obscured private and public burial sites of enslaved and free African Americans in Hardy County.
This project is made possible with support from the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area (AFNHA) and the National Parks Service (NPS). MHT received a $20,000 Appalachian Forest Grant from AFNHA for the Restored Humanity Trail. The purpose of the grant is to further advance the AFNHA’s mission and values as outlined in their NPS approved Management Plan. Restored Humanity is in alignment with this plan by Preserving Assets; identifying and enhancing historical and cultural assets and encouraging stewardship of such assets. For more information, visit AFNHA at www.afnha.org.
Burial grounds are historical and cultural repositories that tell us much about our local and national history. The real asset has always been buried deep within the earth with tombstones, fencing, and other visible structures assisting with their interpretation. When those markers are gone and no other visible evidence remains, the assets are in jeopardy of being erased. This threat of erasure is further compounded with the changing hands in landownership (even if that is nothing more than the elders dying off and younger generations not knowing the full history of the land they inherit); the asset and its historical and cultural value is at high risk of being forever lost and, intentionally or unintentionally, subject to new development and even desecration.
“Searching for African American burial sites was a natural progression of the Historic Schoolhouse Trail,” said Shefa Nola Benoit, Founder of MHT. “It was through the two years of research on the schoolhouse trail that the African American presence and landmarks were discovered.”
The project is scheduled to kick off on October 1, 2023. Through the use of Creative Community Conversations & Cultural Assessments, we will provide a grassroots framework to infuse this initiative with creativity, purpose, and inclusivity so we can move forward collectively and respectfully. This will open up opportunities for facilitated discussion groups and book clubs (facilitated in partnership with WordPlay of Wardensville, WV) with concrete opportunities to galvanize invested individuals beyond theory, philosophy, and discussion and into concrete action.
Follow us on Facebook.com/MountainHeritageTrails, Instagram.com/MountainHeritageTrails, and our website, www.mountainheritagetrails.org. Your support of time, talent and treasure are essential and valued. You can also reach us by contacting Shefa Nola Benoit at roadtrip@mountainheritagetrail.org or 304-897-8084.