“Unmarked” – Lost [MOVIE REVIEW]
SHARE Mount Zion Cemetery in Middletown, VA. An African American cemetery in use between 1801 and 1954. Photo courtesy of First Run Features,
Mount Zion Cemetery in Middletown, VA. An African American cemetery in use between 1801 and 1954. Photo courtesy of First Run Features,
“Unmarked,” a well-intentioned short documentary that seeks to shine a light on heritage lost and heritage found, focuses primarily on the unmarked and abandoned graves of African Americans in Virginia.
The discovery of unmarked slave graves on the property of a preserved plantation, prompted a more in depth look at where other similar graves might be located and who the deceased were. For, as one interviewee stated, “When you know where you come from you know who you are.”
Andrea Blackstone | 4/16/2021, 6 a.m. . Courtesy photo
In recent years, interest in locating burial grounds of enslaved people has grown. There is even a project called The National Burial Database of Enslaved Americans (NBDEA), which Slaververyremembrance.org describes as âthe first and only national database to document individual burials and burial grounds of enslaved Americans.â However, for actor, writer, filmmaker and director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland, Chris Haley, delving into Black history has nearly been a lifelong calling. His grandmother, Zeona Haley, sparked his interest in the topic when she gave him a book called âA Pictorial History of the Negro in America.â It piqued his curiosity, when he realized many were included beyond the most commonly known names.