Cemeteries
The cemeteries listed below are not all historically African American cemeteries, burial grounds, or graveyards (AACBG).
Click on photos to enlarge.
African American Heritage Park, AACBG
Duke and Holland Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Located between Duke Street and Holland Lane in Alexandria, Virginia, the Alexandria African American Heritage Park is made up of nine acres, eight of which surround a one-acre 19th century African American cemetery. The cemetery has 21 burials sites, six of which have identifying headstones and are in their original locations.
PHOTOS
TOP L, R, Middle L: African American Heritage Park. Middle R, Bottom: Remaining grave markers in the park, (Mary Rome, born February 15, 1858, and died January 15, 1899, and Matilda Gaines, born 1821 and died September 23, 1897, at the age of 76.)
SOURCES
Internet
"African American Heritage Park", alexandriava.gov, https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/blackhistory/default.aspx?id=37348. Web.
SITE VISIT
African American Heritage Park. Alexandria, VA.
African Burial Ground National Monument, AACBG
290 Broadway
Manhattan, New York 10007
212-637-2019
The following information provided by the National Park Service, African American Burial Ground National Museum Pamphlet:
"African Burial Ground National Monument
Link to the Past
The stories of the burial ground teach us how free and enslaved Africans contributed to the physical and spiritual development ofLower Manhattan during the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, this history reveals howNew York played a critical role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Africans were separated from their families and subjected to a voyage across theAtlantic in closely packed ships where disease, abuse and death were common.
The Africans in New York came from diverse areas with different cultures, languages and religions. They combined the traditions from their homelands with new world customs.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, more than one quarter of the labor force was enslaved. These Africans worked on the docks, farmed, provided domestic labor, milled and were involved in other trades that were critical to the development of early New York.
The first eleven enslaved men were brought to the colony of New Amsterdam, today Lower Manhattan, by the Dutch West India Company in 1626. Under the Dutch Company, the enslaved men were able to gain conditional freedom; these men could own property, file grievances, be baptized, and marry. In 1644, they petitioned and successfully won partial freedom. In this act, they received 100 acres of land which was referred to as the Land of the Blacks. Although it put them and their wives at liberty as a reward for their many years of service and granted them land for cultivation, the measure required that the men pay for their freedom each year by providing thirty skepels of maize or wheat, peas or beans, and one fat hog to the Dutch West India Company. Additionally, the men were required to work for wages whenever they were needed. The men would be returned to a life of enslavement if they failed to meet these conditions. Even more disturbing, their children (born or yet to be born) remained enslaved. In 1664, the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam was renamedNew York when the British took control of the colony. In New York, laws governing enslaved and free Africans were more restrictive than they had been under Dutch rule. Under this system of disenfranchisement and oppression, by the 1720's, no Black families lived in the Land of the Blacks because the British eventually prohibited Africans from owning land. In response to these unjust laws, there was a slave revolt in 1712. In 1741, a rumor of a slave revolt led to the execution of two white men, two white women, and thirty Black men.
The New York Manumission Society was founded in 1785 to end slavery, and opened the first African Free School in 1787. Then, in 1794, the New York African Society formed as the first Black benevolent association to organize burials as well as provide medical and unemployment insurance. Other organizations in the late 1700s and early 1800s that used the title "African" included the NY African Society, Mother Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, NY African Mutual Relief Society, African Grove Society, Infant African School and NY African Mutual Instruction Society. In 1827,New York became the next to last northern state to abolish slavery.
Men, women, and children from Africa died every day of malnutrition, physical strain, punishment, and diseases such as yellow fever and small pox, in colonial New York. Family members and community members came to the African Burial Ground to bury their love one with dignity and respect, in ceremonies rich with traditions. The burial ground's rediscovery inspired research on the lives and countries of origin of these Africans revealing the diversity of their cultures, and their transformation in the Americas. It is estimated that nearly 15,000 Africans are buried within the 6.6 acre site, which mostly lies hidden beneath present day buildings, streets and sidewalks today.
On February 27, 2006 a portion of the African Burial Ground was established as a National Monument by Presidential Proclamation. A memorial has been constructed on the National Monument site where local, national, and international communities honor and celebrate this sacred and historic area.
Sankofa, a West African Akan symbol represents the site. It tells us that in order to inform the future we must return to our roots to gather wisdom.
Rediscovery
The Archaeological Excavation in Lower Manhattan
The African Burial Ground was uncovered during the pre-construction phase of 290 Broadway. Less than an acre of the 6.6 acre historical cemetery was excavated between 1991 and 1992. However, a research design plan for the study and care of the remains had not yet been established. Efforts of concerned citizens, politicians, anthropologists, scientists and historians, including petitions and a 24-hour vigil, eventually led Congress to halt this excavation. A total of 419 African ancestral remains were removed from the cemetery. The ancestral remains were later transferred to the Cobb Laboratory located at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Reinternment Burial Coffins
On October 4, 2003 419 ancestral remains were reinterred in the African Burial Ground in hand carved mahogany coffins lined with kente cloth from Ghana. The six-day ceremony began September 30, 2003 at Howard University where thousands attended a departure ceremony. The ceremonies continued in six cities: Baltimore, Maryland; Wilmington, Delaware; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey; and New York City. Each participating city commemorated the lives, culture, and invaluable role of Africans as colony builders in the Northeastern United States."
PHOTOS
Top L, R, Middle L, R: Views of memorial.
Bottom L, R: Views of burial plots for reinterred slaves.
SOURCES
Internet
"African Burial Ground" nps.gov, https://www.nps.gov/afbg/index.htm. Web.
"African Burial Ground" nypap.og, https://www.nypap.org/preservation-history/african-burial-ground/. Web.
Pamphlet
National Park Service, African American Burial Ground National Museum Pamphlet. Print.
Site Visit
African Burial Ground National Monument Tour. Manhattan, NY.
Alexandria National Cemetery
1450 Wilkes Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Established in 1862, the Alexandria National Cemetery is one of the original National Cemeteries. By 1864, it was nearly full which led to the planning, development and construction of Arlington National Cemetery.
Notables interred in the Alexandria National Cemetery include five Buffalo Soldiers from the 9th and 10th US Cavalry and the 24th Infantry. Also buried in the Alexandria National Cemetery are four men, members of the Quartermaster Corps who were involved in the search for John Wilkes Booth.
PHOTO
Entrance to the Alexandria National Cemetery.
SOURCES
Internet
"Cemeteries - Alexandria National Cemetery, VA." cem.va.gov, https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/alexandriava.asp. Web.
Site Visit
Alexandria National Cemetery Tour. Alexandria, VA.
Allegheny Cemetery
4734 Butler Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
412-622-2000
Located in Pittsburgh, PA, Allegheny Cemetery is the resting place for several notable African Americans including: Marcus P. Blakemore, Co-Founder of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Theodore R. "Ted" Page, Outfielder for Negro League baseball teams the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords; Outfielder for the Negro League Pittsburgh Crawfords, Harold Tinker; Stanley Turrentine, jazz tenor saxophonist and William "Gus" Greenlee, owner of the Negro League Baseball team Pittsburgh Crawfords and owner of Crawford Bar and Grill. Joshua "Josh" Gibson considered one of the greatest home run hitters in Negro and Major League Baseball.
PHOTOS
Top L. Cemetery entrance front view. Top R: Cemetery entrance back view. Bottom: History plaque.
SOURCES
Internet
"Allegheny Cemetery." findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/44305. Web.
Interview
Davis, Mark. Allegheny Cemetery staff person, Pittsburgh, PA.
Site Visit
Cemetery Tour. Allegheny Cemetery. Pittsburgh, PA.
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Inc. AACBG
2630 Waterview Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-547-0337
Update: On March 18, 2016, I revisited Mt. Auburn Cemetery, formerly known as "The City of the Dead for Colored People" and was amazed by the progress made in maintaining this historic African American cemetery. Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services used state prison inmates to restore the cemetery to its former grandeur. A rededication ceremony was held in May of 2012.
Inscribed on the Mt. Auburn Cemetery History Marker are the words:
Oldest cemetery for African Americans in Baltimore, founded 1872 by Rev. James Peck, Pastor and Trustees of Sharp Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Dating to 1787 the congregation served the community and was influential in the freedom movement of the 19th century and the civil rights movement of the 20th century. Here rest former slaves, clergy professionals, business owners and thousands of African American families.
Notable African Americans buried here include Joseph Gans, World Lightweight Champion.
This historical cemetery is in great need of care. There appears to be a small group of people that maintain a part of the cemetery. Most of it is severely overgrown.
PHOTOS
Top: History Marker. Second Level: Entrance to cemetery. Third Level: Overgrowth throughout the cemetery.
Fourth Level: New Mt. Auburn Cemetery entrance. Bottom: Landscaped cemetery.
SOURCES
Internet
"Mt. Auburn Cemetery" findagrave.gov, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/81204. Web.
"Baltimore's oldest Black cemetery finally restored, with help of inmates." baltimoresun.com, http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-05-14/news/bs-md-inmate-cemetery-restoration-20120514_1_south-baltimore-mount-auburn-cemetery-inmates. Web.
"Baltimore’s Historic Mount Auburn Cemetery Gets Spruced Up." baltimore.cbslocal.com,
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/05/14/baltimores-historic-mount-auburn-cemetery-gets-spruced-up/. Web.
"The City Of The Dead For Colored People: Baltimore's Mount Auburn Cemetery, 1807-2012" https://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/9941. Web.
Site Visit
Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Baltimore, MD.
Frederick Douglass Cemetery, AACBG
1367-1473 Wilkes Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
In Virginia and throughout the United States, African American cemeteries, burial grounds, and graveyards (AACBG) have a long and distinct history of not being financially supported through municipal funding for their care and upkeep. It is sad and extremely disrespectful that African Americans buried at Frederick Douglass Cemetery even in their death, are not treated with the dignity that they deserve. Frederick Douglass Cemetery is hallowed ground and must be treated accordingly. The people buried there deserve an honorable final resting place, one that their descendants can take pride in. This is clearly a race and equity issue deserving of the City of Alexandria's attention.
On October 1, 2021, I met with and interviewed Michael Johnson, a longtime resident of Alexandria, VA and a descendant of African Americans interred in Frederick Douglass Cemetery.
Findfamilyroots: Michael Johnson, you grew up in Alexandria?
Michael Johnson: Yes
Findfamilyroots: How long has your family been in Alexandria?
Michael Johnson: My family history in Alexandria goes back 1816 by way of Culpepper, VA. That’s where my great-great- great-grandfather was born, on a farm in Culpeper, VA. As a matter of fact, the farm he was born on, there was a colonel in the confederate army that owned the farm named Bradsworth.
Findfamilyroots: Did he free your great-great-great-grandfather?
Michael Johnson: He was enslaved. The first freeborn person in my family was my paternal grandfather Albert Johnson. His father was Warner Johnson. He was born 1853 into slavery and later on when slaves were freed through the emancipation proclamation, some of my family migrated to Alexandria, VA. That’s how my great-grandfather, grandfather, and my father came to be here in Alexandria, VA. I was born here in 1956. Growing up, I had no knowledge of my grandfather or my great grandfather. It wasn't until about maybe 15 years ago, through one of my cousins, Dr. Elizabeth Clarke-Lewis who is a historian and history professor at Howard University that I even found out anything about my father’s side of the family.
Findfamilyroots: We are here at the Frederick Douglass Cemetery in Alexandria, VA. What is your connection to the people in this cemetery?
Michael Johnson: My great-grandfather Warner Johnson is buried here. My grandfather Albert Johnson, my great-uncle Wallace Jack Johnson, along with my great grandmother Ellen Johnson is buried here. We can’t find the headstone for my grandfather Albert Johnson and his brother Wallace Jack Johnson.
Findfamilyroots: You can’t locate the other family members?
Michael Johnson: We can’t locate my other family members. We have city records that say we have 2000 people buried here. There are only 600 headstones at this time, that we can locate. The other 1400, they don’t know where they are located. There has been a lot of development down here. So, you can only assume that either they were removed or they’re sitting under some of these parking lots or the apartment building.
Findfamilyroots: You told me that the cemetery floods.
Michael Johnson: Correct. I use to cut through this graveyard when I was a kid, not knowing what it was, cause I had an aunt that lived about three blocks over. These apartments weren’t here. After they built these apartments, the cemetery started flooding… real bad. I’m talking about 18 to 24 inches of water and that’s on a light rain day.
Findfamilyroots: These apartments, how long ago did they go up?
Michael Johnson: I give it a max of about 15 years ago. The cemetery extended out. There use to be a gate on the front side of this building that separated the cemetery from the street. The gate is no longer there.
Findfamilyroots: You’ve had some communication with some officials about the cemetery?
Michael Johnson: The first city archeologist that I spoke to was giving me information. Then he was told not to give me anymore information because I was asking too many questions. His thing was that the city owned it and didn’t own it and that they were just doing the upkeep. I said if you don’t own it, then I’ll claim it. That’s when all the closed doors started happening to me. If you look at city planning, the city had something to do with the cemetery being shortened. This building is literally sitting on top of a graveyard. The history we’re getting now-a-days is that a lot of cities built over top of graveyards.
Findfamilyroots: This cemetery has been here a long time and you remember walking through it as a kid.
Michael Johnson: ...and there was no flooding until about 3 or 4 years ago. I brought this to the attention of several city officials. Its disgraceful the way they’ve allowed this cemetery to be neglected. They keep using the word, abandoned. It’s not abandoned because you have graves here. Its not abandoned just neglected.
Findfamilyroots: Mike I want to come back to you when there are updates and to talk about the progress.
Michael Johnson: I’ve been trying to locate some of the people who might have family buried here through social media and other means. I have been contacted by people as far away as Philadelphia, Georgia, and California. They have relatives buried in Frederick Douglass Cemetery. One gentleman is 84 years old Mr. Leroy Council. He would only visit in the summer. His mother was born here, and his grandmother lived here for a while. His mother moved to Philadelphia. His hope is that if I can do anything for him at this stage in his life, it would be to make sure that I bring respect to where his grandmother and mother are buried. I'll do everything in my power to make sure that happens.
Findfamilyroots: The Social Responsibility Group (SRG) met here last Wednesday. SRG is a 501-C3 nonprofit organization that focuses on issues that impact African Americans. Why did SRG meet here at Frederick Douglass Cemetery?
Michael Johnson: SRG met here to bring attention to the neglect that has taken place here at Douglass Cemetery. This cemetery may be the oldest African American cemetery in Alexandria. It dates back to 1827. Public records indicate that George Washington use to come here for theater entertainment. It was like a resort. The land was donated to be used as a cemetery by Mr. and Mrs. Hollowell who were two white landowners. At that time Alexandria was a part of Washington, DC. A block up, there is a marker that states this area was a part of Washington, DC.
Findfamilyroots: What is the message that you want people to get from this interview?
Michael Johnson: The message I want everybody to hear is that I don’t care if you are black, white, pink, or green if those who came before us who laid the groundwork, especially for African Americans, we know what they sacrificed. Their sacrifice was made so that we could be here today to speak up and hold people accountable for the wrong that was done to them as they transitioned through life to their final resting place. That is what hurts me the most. There are people buried here who’s bodies are probably soaked from being covered with water and everything else.
Mike Johnson can be reached at Mejay50@aol.com.
Interviewer - Percy White III
PHOTOS
Top L: Michael Johnson descendant of African Americans buried in Frederick Douglass Cemetery. R: Cemetery marker.
Second: Views of the cemetery.
Third: Additional views of Frederick Douglas Cemetery, 1367 - 1473 Wilkes Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
Bottom: Former Washington, DC line marker and cross streets.
SOURCES
Internet
"Frederick Douglas cemetery", findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2151092/douglass-cemeterym. Web.
Interview
Mike Johnson, descendant of people interred at Frederick Douglass Cemetery, October 1, 2021.
Site Visit
Frederick Douglass Cemetery.1367 - 1473 Wilkes Street, Alexandria, VA
________________________________________________
UPDATE
Frederick Douglass Cemetery, AACBG
1367-1473 Wilkes Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
On October 16, 2021, City of Alexandria Archaeologists Eleanor Breen and Benjamin Skolnik met with members of the Social Responsibility Group (SRG) and relatives of African Americans interred in Frederick Douglass Cemetery. They provided insight and knowledge regarding FDC history, cemetery dimensions, aerial images, and a ground remote sensing survey. More to come.
PHOTOS
SRG members, city archaeologists, and family of African Americans interred in Frederick Douglass Cemetery.
SOURCES
Site Visit
Frederick Douglass Cemetery.1367 - 1473 Wilkes Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. 1 Oct. 2021.
Eden Cemetery, AACBG
1434 Springfield Road
Collingdale, PA 19023
610-583-8737
The following information provided by Eden Cemetery pamphlet:
HISTORIC EDEN CEMETERY COMPANY
AMERICA'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLIC CEMETERY COMPANY
Established 1902
The History of Eden Cemetery
Eden's creation was a cumulative effort. It was the original idea of its founder and organizer, Jerome Bacon. Bacon was a teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth on Bainbridge near Ninth Street, which was later renamed Cheyney State College. In 1900 most African Americans in Philadelphia lived in the SP Ward, an area examined in W.E.B. DuBois' study, The Philadelphia Negro.
As the city's population increased, "neighborhood" cemeteries were condemned due to improvements in sanitary and sewage systems. Out of respect for those currently interred and to provide a future resting place for African Americans, Bacon discussed with his contemporaries a plan for a unified African American cemetery. Eden's first president, J. C. Asbury; first manager, Daniel W. Parvis; first treasurer, Martin Lehmann; and first vice president, Charles Jones, agreed with Bacon on a fifty-three acre plot in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. The area was selected because of its proximity to Philadelphia, beautiful landscape, size and availability.
Unknown to Collingdale residents, magistrates agreed to grant a charter to the company, which J. C. Asbury executed. Bacon and the board members agreed with Jacob White, the president of Lebanon Cemetery, located at Passyunk near Ninth Street, to re-inter all remains in Eden in 1903. However, the sudden death of Celestine Cromwell, wife of advisor member, Willis M. Cromwell, in August of 1902, hastened the need for a place of interment for African Americans. Bacon, J.C. Asbury and undertaker, J. T. Seth, convinced all of the board members that Celestine Cromwell should be the first interred in Eden Cemetery.
On August 11, 1902, before the first interment was to take place, some of the white Collingdale residents blocked the entrance to the cemetery, protesting the interment of African Americans in their community. Mrs. Cromwell's body was returned to Philadelphia. The following evening, on August 12, 1902, after dark, Mrs. Cromwell was buried.
In January, 1903, all remains from Labanon Cemetery were interred in Eden. In the spring, the remains from the Stephen Smith Home Cemetery were interred. In 1923, the remains from Olive Cemetery, which was adjacent to the Stephen Smith Home, were also buried in Eden.
Celestine, Lebanon, Home and Olive are the original four sections. Eden Cemetery would later expand to 23 sections. In 1924, the mortgage was satisfied and for many years, annual distribution of stock share dividends were paid to over 200 stockholders. Eden Cemetery is on the Historical Register and is the resting place of hundreds of prominent national and local 'old Philadelphian' African Americans. Today, there are over 85,000 interred. By Benjamin Wilson.
Notable African Americans interned at Eden Cemetery include: Amos Scott - First African American Magistrate for Philadelphia. Jesse Fauset - First African American woman to become a member of First Phi Beta Kappa, author and teacher. Chris J. Perry - Founder of The Philadelphia Tribune, oldest running African American newspaper. William Still and his wife Letitia - Author of "The Underground Railroad". Dr. Caroline Still-Anderson - Philadelphia's First Black female physician and daughter of William and Letitia Still. Dr. Rebecca Cole - female physician. John Taylor - First African American to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Ms. Caroline Lecound - Principal of O.V. Catto School. Francis Harper - Author, lecturer and abolitionist. Mrs. Henrietta S. Bowers-Duterte - One of the first female, African American Undertakers in Pennsylvania. Nellie Bright - Teacher, Ph.D., University of Penn Graduate. Marion Anderson - Renowned Opera Singer. Reverend. Rev. Charles Albert Tindley - One of the founding fathers of American gospel music. Octavius Valentine Catto - educator and civil rights activist.
Unfortunately the cemetery has been vandalized by juveniles who, as reported by Ms. Cockroft, don’t want the cemetery in the predominantly white neighborhood.
PHOTOS
Top: Entrance to Eden Cemetery. Eden Cemetery Company, 1434 Springfield Road, Collingdale, PA 19023. Contact Ms. Mina Cockroft, Family Services Director, 610-583-8738. Bottom: Headstone vandalism.
SOURCES
Internet
"Eden Cemetery" https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/44744. Web.
"Eden Cemetery", edencemetery.org, https://www.edencemetery.org/. Web.
Interview
Cockroft, Mina. Eden Cemetery. Eden Cemetery Office. Collingdale, PA.
Site Visit
Eden Cemetery Tour. Collingdale, PA.
Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum
600 Martin Luther King Jr Drive
Birmingham, AL 35211-2849
205- 251-3114
Established in 1900 as Elm Leaf Cemetery by a group of fraternal organizations, Elmwood Cemetery is the resting place for Carol Denise McNair, killed in the bombing of the16th Street Baptist Church, Eddie Kendricks, co-founder of the Temptations, and Sun Ra jazz composer, band leader and philosopher.
PHOTO
Elmwood Cemetery.
SOURCES
Internet
"Elmwood Cemetery" findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/22674. Web.
Site Visit
Elmwood Cemetery Tour. Birmingham, AL.
Evergreen Cemetery, AACBG
Evergreen Road
Richmond, Virginia 23223
Evergreen Cemetery established in 1891, was created as a burial place for African Americans that would rival the historic Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Notable African Americans buried in Evergreen include Maggie Walker, first woman president of a bank.
Directly behind the entrance to the cemetery is a well maintained burial area made up of several acres. The largest part of the cemetery is severely overgrown and in need of maintenance. Many if not most of the graves in the cemetery can not be seen due to the extreme overgrowth.
Updated March 6, 2016: Currently, Evergreen Cemetery is in better condition.
PHOTO
Top L: Close up of the entrance sign. Top R: Entrance to Evergreen Cemetery.
Bottom L: Maggie Walker's family plot. In the background can be seen the extreme level of overgrowth throughout much of the cemetery.
Bottom R: Sign at the entrance to Evergreen Road.
SOURCES
Internet
"Evergreen Cemetery" findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/50175 . Web.
"Evergreen Cemetery", enrichmond.org, https://enrichmond.org/evergreen-cemetery/. Web.
Site Visit
Evergreen Cemetery. Richmond, VA.
Freedmen's Cemetery Demolition and Archaeological Investigation, AACBG
South Washington and Church Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Written on the Freedmen's Cemetery History Marker are the words:
Federal authorities established a cemetery here for newly freed African Americans during the Civil War. In January 1864, the military government of Alexandria confiscated for use as a burring ground an abandoned pasture from a family with confederate sympathies. About 1,700 freed people including infants and Black Union Soldiers were interred here before the last recorded burial in January of 1869. Most of the deceased had resided in what is known as today as Old Town and in nearby rural settlements. Despite mid twentieth century construction projects, many burials remain undisturbed. A list of those interred here has also survived.
View the names of people buried in Freedom’s Cemetery, freedmenscemetery.org/burials/burials.pdf.
PHOTOS
Top L: Freedmen's Cemetery History Sign. Top R: Project description sign. Bottom L, R: Freedman's Cemetery.
SOURCES
Internet
"Freedmen's Cemetery." alexandriava.gov/link/redir.pxe?www.freedmenscemetery.org, Web.
Pamphlet
The Dedication of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial. Alexandria, VA. Print.
Site Visit
Freedmen's Cemetery. Alexandria, VA.
Continued next section.
Freedmen's Cemetery Demolition and Archaeological Investigation, AACBG
South Washington and Church Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
On September 6, 2014, the dedication of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial was held to honor and recognize the lives, struggles and journey to freedom of those African Americans memorialized at the Freedmen's Cemetery.
PHOTOS
Freedmen's Cemetery.
SOURCES
Internet
"Freedmen's Cemetery", alexandriava.gov, https://www.alexandriava.gov/FreedmenMemorial. Web.
"Freedmen's Cemetery", freedmenscemetery.org, https://www.freedmenscemetery.org/. Web.
Pamphlet
The Dedication of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial. Alexandria, VA. Print.
Site Visit
Freedmen's Cemetery. Alexandria, VA.
Greenwood Cemetery, AACBG
Aviation Avenue
(Next to the Airport)
Birmingham, Alabama 35212
Located in this cemetery are three of the four little girls killed on September 15, 1963 while attending church at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama: *Addie Mae Collins, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Cynthia Wesley. Carol Denise McNair is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama.
Family members sought to have Addie’s coffin moved to a different cemetery, one better maintained than Greenwood Cemetery. When her body was exhumed and the casket opened, it was discovered that her remains were not inside. Both sisters, Sarah Collins Rudolph and Junie Collins (Peavy) Williams said that they do not know what happened to their sister’s body and that they have made efforts to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of her remains.
Update February 2020: An investigation was held at Greenwood Cemetery. Through the use of underground radar, a casket believed to be that of Addie Mae Collins was located next to the burial site of Carole Robertson. Addie's sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph present during the investigation stated in a report by ABC 33/40 News, “I’m so happy we found where Addie’s grave is located. I am just real happy.”
PHOTO
History Marker in front of cemetery.
SOURCES
Internet
"Addie Mae Collins" abc3340.com, https://abc3340.com/news/abc-3340-investigates/gallery/abc-3340-news-investigates-search-for-addie-mae-collins?photo=1. Web.
Site Visit
Greenwood Cemetery. Birmingham, AL.
Lincoln Memorial Cemetery
4001 Suitland Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
301-568-8410
Established in 1929, Lincoln Memorial Cemetery is the resting place of many prominent African Americans including Nannie Helen Burroughs, Len Bias, Dr. Charles Drew, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Van McCoy, Sam Lacey, Mary Church Terrell, Walter Washington, Joseph "Smokey Joe" Williams, Dr. Kelly Miller and Joseph A. Walker Jr.
PHOTO
Lincoln Memorial Cemetery Entrance.
SOURCES
Internet
"Lincoln Memorial Cemetery." findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/81143. Web.
Site Visit
Lincoln Memorial Cemetery Tour. Suitland, MD.
West Point Monument, AACBG
Norfolk’s Civil War African American Heritage
West Point Section of Elmwood Cemetery
238 Princess Anne Road
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-441-2653
Inscribed on the Virginia Civil War Trails History Marker are the words:
West Point Monument
Norfolk’s Civil War African American Heritage
The memorial before you, the West Point Monument, was built in 1909 as attribute to African American veterans of the Civil War and Spanish-American War. James A. Fuller, a former slave and veteran of the 1st U.S. Colored Calvary, led the effort to erect this monument. Fuller was Norfolk’s first African American councilman, and he successfully lobbied for the establishment of this section of Elmwood, named West Point as a burial ground for Norfolk’s African American citizens. The cornerstone of the Soldiers, Monument was laid by William Fuller in 1908, however, the monument was not completed until 1920. When the monument was finally unveiled, it was the first memorial to African American soldiers in Virginia.
The Civil War soldier depicted on the West Point Monument is Norfolk native Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. While his parents were born slaves, they secured their freedom and left Norfolk with their son for New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1855. Carney enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts 1862, and fought with his regiment during the July 18 1863, attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. When the color bearers were shot down in the failed assault, Carney, despite being severely wounded, managed to save the U.S. flag from capture. “When they saw me bringing in the colors,” Carney recollected, “they cheered me, and I was able to tell them that the old flag never touched the ground.” Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary bravery under fire. He was the first of sixteen African American soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. Sgt. Carney’s stone figure solemnly stands today as a tribute to the 100 African American veterans at rest in West Point Cemetery.
Carney was one of about 200,000 African American soldiers and sailors to serve the Union during the Civil War. The Union could not avoid using African Americans to aid its war effort. Each former slave serving with a weapon or as a laborer lessened the South’s ability to maintain its economy and fight the larger Federal army. Consequently, Congress passed the Militia Act of July 17, 1862, authorizing President Lincoln to organize African Americans “for any military or naval service for which they may have been found competent.” This act coupled with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, opened the door to African Americans not only seeking their freedom, but also helping to release those still held in bondage. As one former slave wrote: “This was the biggest thing that ever happened in my life, I felt like a man with a uniform on and a gun in my hand. I felt freedom in my bones.”
“Once let the Black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle upon his button and a musket on his shoulder… and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.” - Frederick Douglass.
PHOTOS
West Point Monument.
SOURCES
Internet
"West Point Monument", norfolk.gov, https://www.norfolk.gov/facilities/Facility/Details/52. Web.
"West Point Monument", slaverymonuments.org, https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1108. Web.
Site Visit
West Point Cemetery. Norfolk, VA.
Woodland Cemetery, AACBG
2300 Magnolia Road
Richmond, VA 23223
804-643-4702
Established 1916. As far back as the early 1900's, Woodland Cemetery was known as a prestigious place of interment for African Americans. In her book, Here I Lay My Burdens Down: A history of Black cemeteries in Richmond, Virginia, Veronica Davis reported that in the early 1900's a cemetery plot in Woodlawn sold for $15.00 to $250.00, a large sum of money in the early 1900's.
Buried in Woodland are many of Richmond's Black elite including John Jasper, Founder, first Reverend of Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Church, philosopher, and orator. He was authorized by the United States Freedman's Bureau, along with several other Black ministers to legalize slave marriages. (Before the Civil War, slave marriages were not recognized as being legal). Also buried in Woodlawn is Arthur Ashe Jr. - tennis great and many doctors, dentists, bank officers, church leaders and Mary Elizabeth Bowser - a female African American spy for the Union.
Woodland cemetery is maintained by Isaiah Entzminger and a small staff. With the exception of a very small number of donations made by friends of the cemetery, Mr. Entzminger personally pays for the upkeep of the cemetery.
PHOTOS
Woodland Cemetery, 2300 Magnolia Road, Richmond, VA 23223.
SOURCES
Internet
"Woodland Cemetery" findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/641499. Web.
Lectures
Entzminger, Isaiah. Woodland Cemetery. Richmond, VA. Discussion.
Books
Davis, Veronica A. "Here I lay My Burdens Down." Richmond: Dietz, 2003. Print.
Site Visit
Woodlawn Cemetery Tour. Richmond, VA.