We praise Gov. Terry McAuliffe for righting a longstanding disparity in the state that had Virginia taxpayer dollars going to support the maintenance of Confederate gravesites, while those of African-Americans from that era are ignored.

On Wednesday, Gov. McAuliffe signed into law a bill that will help change that.

The measure, shepherded through the Virginia General Assembly by Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn, provides state funds for historic African-American gravesite upkeep at such places as Evergreen and East End cemeteries in Richmond and Henrico County.

Cemeteries like these two are dotted across the commonwealth, holding our ancestors and our legacy — people who were pioneers in their fields and role models for their families, our communities and the nation.

Among those buried in Evergreen Cemetery are nationally renowned banker and businesswoman Maggie L. Walker and crusading newspaperman John Mitchell Jr. By preserving gravesites of nearly 7,000 people who lived between 1800 and 1900, we are preserving a connection with our history by honoring people who were instrumental in advancing civil rights, voting rights, education, medicine, economic progress and racial equality for people of color and all citizens.

While the amount the state is providing is minimal — $35,000 annually — it is equal to the $5 per grave allotment that the state has been putting toward Confederate graves and burial markers for the last 100 years.

The money will boost the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, families and others who have been clearing vines and overgrowth from the old cemeteries.

Moreover, it marks a sea change in the Old Dominion that continues to genuflect to the ghosts of Confederates. By now acknowledging the importance of African-American history and providing equal state funding toward preserving it, the state is moving toward equity and recognition of the full humanity of its African-American citizens.