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Orange County panel advances planning for Blackwood Farm gravesite marker
Summary
County Human Relations commissioners discussed a proposed gravesite marker at Blackwood Farm, approved preliminary wording borrowed from the African Burial Ground Monument, and assigned staff and commissioners to finalize location and reach out to families ahead of a possible June 12, 2026, placement ceremony.
Paul Slack, director of Orange County’s Office of Civil Rights & Civic Life, presented preliminary plans on April 28 for a marker at Blackwood Farm intended to recognize buried individuals and prompt local outreach and a placement ceremony. Slack told the commission the proposed inscription borrows language from the African Burial Ground Monument: "For all those who were lost, For all those who were stolen, For all those who were left behind, For all those who were not forgotten."
Slack said he will meet with the manufacturer to finalize the marker’s location and asked commissioners to contact local residents who have family buried at Blackwood Farm. Commissioners discussed drafting invitations for a marker placement ceremony and identified a potential date "on or around June 12, 2026." Chair Rhian Carreker-Ford is listed among the owners of the next steps alongside Slack.
The commission did not adopt a final design or authorize a purchase during the meeting; the action list records staff and commissioners continuing work on location approval, outreach to family members, and drafting invitations prior to any placement ceremony.
