Richmond’s Woodland Cemetery
From 1938 to 1978, one of Richmond’s most storied and fiercely competitive traditions played out on the gridiron. The Armstrong High School Wildcats and Maggie L. Walker High School Green Dragons squared off each year for citywide bragging rights in an annual football game known as the Armstrong-Walker Classic.
The rivalry takes on new relevance today with the launch of the Armstrong-Walker Challenge, a fundraising initiative spearheaded by the Woodland Restoration Foundation aimed at preserving the legacies of both schools as well as the rich history of Woodland Cemetery, a historically African American burial ground near the city’s Highland Park neighborhood.
Armstrong High School was founded in 1867 with funding from the Freedmen’s Bureau to offer education to formerly enslaved people. The city of Richmond took over the school a decade later, first calling it Richmond Colored High and Normal School and then changing to the current name in 1909. It was the only secondary school for Black students in Richmond until Maggie L. Walker High School, whose pioneering namesake was an Armstrong graduate, was established in 1937. A rivalry between the two schools was inevitable.
Taking place annually the weekend after Thanksgiving, the Armstrong-Walker Classic football game quickly became the highlight of the fall season in Richmond. Armstrong graduates remember it as a homecoming for thousands of students, alumni and Richmond residents, who gathered at the stadium to celebrate their shared heritage, recall memories, honor the past and cheer for their respective schools. The intensity of the competition was palpable until the final seconds on the scoreboard ticked away.
More than just a rivalry, the game represented the unity and spirit of the local African American community during the era of segregation, when high school sports offered one of the few opportunities for racial equality and competition. It embodied a sense of pride, camaraderie and strength for a community that had overcome tremendous odds. Notes Michael Whitt in his book “United in Rivalry: Richmond’s Armstrong-Maggie Walker Classic,” the game at its pinnacle drew as many as 30,000 fans.
Drawing a connection between fans of the Classic and the 30,000 ancestors buried in Woodland Cemetery, the Armstrong-Walker Challenge is a new capital campaign that strives to leverage the excitement and loyalty of alumni, school supporters, city residents and others across the United States and inspire them to renew the friendly competition, but in the form of financial contributions.
This effort seeks to raise $2 million to restore and maintain Woodland Cemetery. According to the Woodland Restoration Foundation, which has been working to refurbish the cemetery since 2018, the funding is needed for significant improvements, including roadways, landscaping, brush clearing, grave marker identification, and the construction of an educational center and museum.
Woodland Restoration Foundation Executive Director Marvin Harris
Marvin Harris, executive director of the foundation, is passionate about the project. “Collectively and individually, those interred here deserve dignity and respect,” he says, adding that the restoration of the cemetery is not just about preserving a piece of history, it’s about honoring the lives of the trailblazers and pioneers who shaped Richmond’s African American community and, in many cases, the nation.
The Armstrong-Walker Challenge began in January and runs through June 30. Donors identify the school they are honoring with their funds, and updates on the foundation’s homepage show which school is leading the charge (as of this writing, Maggie Walker was ahead). In addition, Harris is working with the faculty and staff of both schools to communicate with their communities and create service opportunities for current students. At the end of the campaign, a plaque will be unveiled naming the school that raised the most funds — thus beginning a new chapter in the Armstrong-Walker rivalry, honoring the lives of those who endured, served, saved and established Richmond’s African American culture and creating a legacy that will inspire future generations.
Founded in 1917 by civil rights activist and newspaper editor John Mitchell Jr., Woodland Cemetery has long been a central landmark in Richmond’s African American community as well as a monument to resilience, perseverance and the indomitable spirit of those who overcame tremendous odds in life. Its headstones tell the stories of individuals who dedicated their lives to serving students, patients, churches, community and country, shaping the cultural and social landscape of Richmond and beyond.
Among those interred at Woodland are former enslaved people, veterans from five wars and members of Richmond’s most prominent families, as well as Arthur Ashe, the legendary tennis champion and a graduate of Maggie L. Walker High School; Charles T. Russell, architect of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank founded by Walker; Reverend John Jasper, founder of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church; and Elizabeth Gaiters, the first Black nurse in the Richmond Health Department. “Chances are, if you or loved ones have lived in the Richmond area since the early 1900s, you know someone interred at Woodland,” Harris notes.
Even in today’s African American culture, the spirits of ancestors are believed to play an active role in their descendants’ lives, offering guidance and protection. Burial grounds, including Woodland Cemetery, hold sacred spiritual and cultural significance to people of African descent. More than a cultural landmark and place of physical rest, Woodland is a sacred place of reverence where the living can connect with their ancestors, history and identity as a vital way of understanding their heritage and customs.
Harris places American flags at Woodland Cemetery gravesites.
The cemetery’s design speaks to the community’s heritage. It features an arrowhead shape, symbolizing a northward look to freedom, as well as circular designs that evoke the ideas of community and continuity. Its distinctive family plots, monuments and gravestones demonstrate the regional traditions and values of the time. Two circular paths are named in honor of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, arguably among the most important figures in American history, and the radial paths honor the legacies of others who fought for freedom and equality. A meditative fountain at the center of the cemetery offers a peaceful space for families and other visitors to reflect on the lives of their departed loved ones.
While the cemetery’s condition has improved in recent years, there is still much work to be done, requiring ongoing investment. Volunteers with the Woodland Restoration Foundation see the Armstrong-Walker Challenge as an opportunity for the Richmond community to come together to honor the legacy of those who contributed to the city’s history, to ensure Woodland Cemetery is returned to its original beautiful condition and to sustain its dignity for generations to come.
The Challenge has it all — rivalry, historical context and meaningful impact, as well as the ability to elevate to a national level the stories and contributions of the souls at rest. As Harris reminds us, “We must remember, and we must honor those who came before us by caring for their resting place.”
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