It is located at 1554 E Broad St. (alternate address 1520 E Marshall St.), across from the site of Lumpkin's Jail, in Shockoe Bottom.
The Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground was thought to have been established as early as 1750, however a land deed for the property supports a 1799 founding.
Christopher McPherson, a formerly enslaved free person of color, described the appalling conditions of the burial ground in his 1810 book "A Short History of the Life of Christopher McPherson, Alias Pherson, Son of Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
At that time the burial ground had become a parking lot, which was purchased by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in about 2004.
[13] An important group formed from and for this struggle was the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality.
They continue to be active advocates and stewards of the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground.
The first public acknowledgment of the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, then covered over with asphalt, occurred during Elegba Folklore Society's Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration in 2002 and, perhaps, before.
Additionally, the Elegba Folklore Society guides cultural history tours that include a tribute to this burial ground.
The event also serves as a re-dedication to reclamation and the proper memorization of the area of Shockoe Bottom, which was once the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade.