Photo by Jay Paul
Four panels telling the story of the 19th-century human remains that were discovered decades ago in an abandoned well on the Medical College of Virginia campus were unveiled in September.
The remains were uncovered in 1994 during construction of the Hermes A. Kontos Medical Sciences Building and are believed to be largely from people of African descent. The remains were sent to the Smithsonian Institution for further study and are now housed at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources while a Family Representative Council works on recommendations for interment and a more permanent memorial.
“Today’s East Marshall Street Well panel unveiling is an important step toward reclaiming the full humanity of our ancestors — those unearthed 27 years ago, as well as those likely still buried beneath the Kontos Building,” Carmen Foster, a member of the Family Representative Council, said. “The bodies of these children, women and men were taken, not given, for the development of medical knowledge. From this day forward, every person who enters the Kontos Building will know that this is sacred ground.”
The panel unveiling is part of the VCU Office of Health Equity’s History and Health program, which launched in March 2021.
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