Tyron Williams Receives "Community Advocate of the Year" Award from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Mt. Olive Baptist Church Pastor and Interracial Conversations Steering Committee member Tyron Williams shares his time and talents with more—many more—than these two organizations. On September 5, he was recognized for how widely he gives. At its Retreat held in Richmond, VCU's Massey Cancer Center surprised Tyron with its "2025 Community Advocate Award."
The citation is below, as are two photos from the event. IRC is proud of you, Pastor Williams!
Rev. Dr. Tyron Williams has been an integral part of the Facts & Faith Fridays community since its inception in 2020. Pastor Williams is a kind and compassionate leader who guides his congregation in the Northern Neck of Virginia to think about the whole body, including the mind and the spirit.
His dedication and commitment to Facts & Faith Fridays has been exemplified by his preaching and teaching giving special attention to stewarding the gift of our bodies so that we might serve our communities well.
Over the last five years he has participated in Facts & Faith Fridays meetings, led prayer, community discussions and serves as a critical voice for those who live in the rural areas of Massey’s catchment area. He has hosted screenings after worship services, is an integral part of building a strong relationship with the hospital in Tappahannock and spent time on Capitol Hill and Virginia’s General Assembly advocating for Cancer Research. In addition to leading these efforts with Facts & Faith Fridays he has served his community on the Steering Committee for the Interracial Conversations of the Northern Neck and past Education Secretary of the Northern Neck Baptist Association. President of the Northumberland Chapter of the NAACP; Founding Member of Equipping Minds by Preventing Oppression With Educational Resources (EMPOWER); Member, Board of Directors, VISIONS – Economic Development; Steering Committee for LEAD Northern Neck; and Member, Steering Committee for VISIONS Community Building Forum on Poverty.
Pastor Williams has welcomed the opportunities to travel alongside Dr. Winn to other states and conferences to present about the work of Community Outreach & Engagement and is a welcoming member to potential candidates who are interested in joining the team at Massey.
His leadership in the church and in the community have afforded him the opportunity to serve the Northern Neck Baptist Association as a respected leader of leaders, the Northern Neck Baptist Association (NNBA) is a new seed grant recipient with the Community Office of Engagement and we look forward with great anticipation at all of the good work that is ahead.
To Charleston, August 2025
Thirty-five members of the Interracial Conversation (IRC) participated in a bus trip to Charleston, South Carolina, from August 24 to 27. During the trip, they participated in three main activities:
A "Frankly Charleston Black History Tour," led by a tour guide who joined them on the bus.
A visit to the International African American Museum, which opened in 2023.
A presentation on the history and ministry of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church, where nine congregants were tragically shot in 2015; however, the church's history extends much farther back.
The trip to Charleston was IRC's second bus trip; the first occurred in February 2024 and included visits to Montgomery and Selma. This Charleston trip was made possible by grants from Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church's Agape Fund and the Robert B. Lantz Foundation.
Pictured above are quiz participants at the Mother Emanuel AME Church.
Tom Coye and Phyllis Henderson in conversation while sitting in the Embassy Suites lobby.
Restoring dignity to dozens of forebears such as these
Liston Frazier, Mount Vernon Baptist
Kerry Petersen and others making a difference!
Old St. John's Cemetery restoration project
Representatives of Interracial Conversations have been involved in a community-wide effort to restore historic Old St. John's Cemetery in Kilmarnock. On November 15, 2025, 87 persons representing 11 churches or organizations, pitched in to clear brush.
Old St. John’s Cemetery is located on Calvary Drive, just off Harris Road, in Kilmarnock. Many on the Northern Neck have passed by the historic cemetery without knowing it exists. Though remembered by the older generations within Lancaster County’s African American community, the wider public has remained largely unaware that it exists. Now long-neglected, Old St. John’s Cemetery has fallen victim to vandals, trash, and vegetation, and headstones have toppled and graves have sunk into the ground.
Old St. John’s Baptist Church was established in 1868, when Black members of Morattico Baptist Church, located on the outskirts of Kilmarnock, sought dismissal to form a congregation of their own. Old St. John’s would become the first independent Black congregation in Lancaster County. Establishment of a cemetery soon followed the church’s organization. Old St. John’s Church once stood a block or two east of the cemetery’s current location, though the precise site has been lost to time. By 1892, the congregation had dissolved.
At its height, Old St. John’s Church grew to nearly 1,000 members, serving as a spiritual and cultural anchor for free-born and newly-emancipated families throughout the Northern Neck. Eventually, six “daughter” churches grew from it: Mt. Olive in Wicomico Church in Northumberland County (1873) and, in Lancaster County, Willie Chapel in Lancaster Courthouse (1884), Calvary in Kilmarnock (1892), Mt. Vernon in White Stone (1893), Sharon in Weems (1898), and New St. John’s in Kilmarnock (1910). When the original church closed, four of these congregations assumed stewardship of the 3.57-acre cemetery.
Although burials in the Old St. John’s Cemetery continued into the mid-20th century, they grew increasingly infrequent. Research conducted by genealogist Margaret Hill and Clyde Ratcliffe documented 70 known graves, including those of Black veterans of both World Wars, in their book, In Remembrance: Gravestone Inscriptions and Burials of Lancaster County, Virginia (2016). The book was the first modern action to draw attention to the site.
Around the year 2000, Dr. James E.C. Norris, son of the Northern Neck’s first Black physician, visited the cemetery to pay respects to his family’s friend, Ophelia Nickens Pinn (1899-1978). He was shaken at the state the cemetery. Norris made attempts to draw attention to the cemetery but, living in New York City, he lacked the proximity to lead a sustained restoration.
That changed in 2025, when new research by Kerry Petersen, president of the Kilmarnock Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), expanded the list of confirmed burials from 70 to 377. Petersen believes the true number may approach 1,000, given that obituary records in Lancaster County do not begin until 1900 and death certificates that include cemetery names were not issued until 1912. If so, Old St. John’s may be the largest African American cemetery in the region and among its most historically significant.
As part of the project, a newly-compiled history of Old St. John’s Church, along with a comprehensive list of nearly 1,400 members and burials was written. The volume documents the ancestors and families of nearly every longstanding Black family in the county. The digital history book may be found on the IRC website by clicking on “Resources” then scrolling down to the Old St. John’s area where you’ll find a black box link to download the book to your device. Considerable work remains to be done at Old St. John’s cemetery, including installing signage and building a memorial entrance. However, the recent workday marked a turning point: the moment when the cemetery’s lost history began to emerge. When restoration is complete, organizers plan an ecumenical worship service to bless and rededicate the grounds.