<div><strong>"If people cannot respect the dead, they’ll never respect the living."</strong>
</div>
<div><strong>- Pastor Michelle C. Thomas</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sometime between March 15th and March 20th, vandals desecrated the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont, the final resting place of <em>over 100 formerly enslaved African Americans.</em>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And, as of June 2020, it is also the final resting place of <strong>Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas -- the first African American person who was born free to be buried in this cemetery, the beloved 16 year old son of Pastor Michelle C. and Delroy Thomas.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Vandals smashed flower pots, threw wreaths into a nearby pond, and cut and burned works of art left behind by those who visit the souls that were laid to rest here after they were forced to sacrifice their labor and their lives to build America. We are compelled to honor and elevate the lives and legacy of those taken from their homes during the slave trade, but these recent acts prove that -- <em>even in death</em> -- these <strong>beautiful souls who never tasted freedom still have not been allowed the dignity of resting in peace.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The Loudoun Freedom Center, the non-profit 501(c)3 organization which owns and cares for the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont, will work to repair the destruction and set up a network of surveillance and fencing in order to secure the site and protect it from further damage.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>At the burial ground, Pastor Michelle has hosted <em>countless</em> public and private school field trips and teacher continuing education days over the years. The stories and challenges of the formerly enslaved <strong>must continue to be elevated today</strong>, even while we are still on the journey to freedom.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our ask is that our community contributes to this fund as a way of coming together to preserve and protect the history of those who had been forgotten. In this way, we continue to <strong>give a voice to their lives and to the lessons they have for all of us</strong>. We will continue to plant the seeds of r<strong>econciliation, peace, and understanding</strong>. We must <strong>unite over their sacrifice</strong> so that it may not be in vain.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Let us all rededicate ourselves, to honoring the lives of the formerly enslaved -- <strong>and of our dear Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas</strong> -- and to perservering along the journey to freedom for all people.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>This burial ground is dedicated to their struggles, their lives, and their legacies. The trail is dedicated to their Journey to Freedom, even if all that we can do is offer them, at the very least, freedom in their final resting place.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Links to local media coverage, followed by photos of the destruction:
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/historic-african-american-cemetery-damaged-in-loudoun-county/3309116/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historic African American Cemetery Damaged NBC4</a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/loudoun-county-sheriff-michael-chapman-buta-biberaj-investigates-reported-vandalism-at-african-american-enslaved-cemetery-gravesite-pastor-michelle-c-thomas-fitz-belmont-ridge-road-harry-byrd-highway-enslaved-cemetary-michelle-thomas-loudoun-county-naacp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sheriff investigates reported vandalism ABC7</a>
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/71822979_167944556234998_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/71822979_1679445584409035_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/71822979_1679445600410867_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/71822979_1679445611385547_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/71822979_167944561932775_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>

Anonymous

Cheryl Keedy

Lindsey Herron

Jihan Andoni

McArthur Hill

Christine Dellecave

Sheryl Gusman

Angela Puryear

Paulina-Marie Ransom

Colleen Mullen

Anna Kinworthy

Pamela Schmidt

Simone Benn

Denise Dittmar

Michael Grinnage

Repair Desecration of Belmont Graves of Enslaved

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Repair Desecration of Belmont Graves of Enslaved

Still $23,975 to go. Help us build momentum.