ACHS senior featured in New York Times for college essay on preserving Black history
Zhi McMillan wrote about using technology to document Alexandria's Douglass Memorial Cemetery
Alexandria City High School senior Zhi McMillan was featured in the New York Times this month for a college application essay about his work preserving the history of an African American cemetery.
McMillan was one of several students profiled in a Jan. 13 article examining how high school seniors are navigating college essays amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity initiatives. While many students told the Times they were avoiding topics related to race, gender, or immigration status, McMillan chose to write about his identity.
He “highlighted in his essay an experience at a historical burial ground for African Americans and how the derelict conditions inspired him to use technology to preserve the cemetery’s history,” the Times reported. McMillan told the newspaper he mentioned his experience as a Black man because he wants to attend a university that sees the value of diversity.
Student representative Madesen Lynch announced the recognition at Thursday’s School Board meeting, saying McMillan created an online tour of Douglass Memorial Cemetery—a historic African American burial ground on Wilkes Street established in 1895—to document it before potential flooding. His mentor’s family is buried at the site.
The article appeared in print on Jan. 14 on Page 13 of Section A in the New York edition.