The garden-inspired settings of many US burial grounds are marked by unique architecture, sculptures, landscaping, and parting sentiments inscribed on tombstones. However, few Black cemeteries have received similar adornment. This disparity underscores a history of neglect and devaluation of African American burial sites.
The national pattern of disregard for Black burial grounds left most uncounted, unprotected, and rarely documented on maps. As land ownership changed over the centuries, many Black burial sites were lost to development or neglect. Illegal dumping worsened conditions at many sites.
Now, communities across the US are rediscovering forgotten and lost Black cemeteries and documenting their history, using technology to map above and below ground. Families and preservation groups have more hope for rediscovering and protecting lost gravesites with the passage of the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act.
Member of the East End Cemetery Collaboratory worked to map and gather the information and images on this map of Barton Heights Cemeteries in Richmond, Virginia.
The African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, signed into law as part of H.R.2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, marks a significant step towards rectifying this historical injustice. This act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to distribute grant funding to other Federal agencies, State, local, and Tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, historic preservation groups, and private nonprofit organizations.
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The Act addresses the long-standing issues of neglect and lack of documentation that have plagued African American burial sites for centuries. During the period of 1619-1865, slaveholders often determined the location and manner in which African Americans were buried, typically directing these burials away from sites they deemed to be valuable land. These burial sites were rarely ever mapped or otherwise documented.
The Role of Technology in Rediscovery and Preservation
Remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technology are aiding efforts to document remnants of burial sites after decades of neglect and often misuse. The application of advanced technologies means burial sites will remain undisturbed as research teams more sharply define their features. GIS maps provide accurate positioning and documentation, enriched by layers of data from current research and historical records. GIS maps are also being used as resources for visitors.
Here's how technology is making a difference:
- Drone Imagery: Drone imagery helps researchers see patterns from above.
- Ground-Penetrating Radar: Ground-penetrating radar detects the location of what is beneath the soil.
- GIS Maps: GIS maps provide accurate positioning and documentation, enriched by layers of data from current research and historical records.
For example, at East End Cemetery, a research team used GIS technology with drones to find burial sites. When researchers processed the drone-captured images of East End Cemetery using GIS technology, they detected oblong depressions in the soil. With this analysis, they were able to document and map 8,000 graves. Volunteers separately located 3,300 marked graves. By recording the dates on grave markers, researchers offered evidence of the chronological development of East End Cemetery section by section.
Infographic of African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act
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Examples of Rediscovered Burial Sites
Across the United States, numerous African American burial sites have been rediscovered, shedding light on previously unknown histories.
At C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida, officials announced in 2019 that a search using radar had located 145 coffins in an unmarked gravesite on campus. A few months earlier, radar also helped investigators in Tampa locate Zion Cemetery and hundreds more unmarked graves. As investigations continued in Tampa, researchers located eight other Black cemeteries.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, an invoice paid by the city confirmed that at least 18 unnamed victims of the city’s 1921 race massacre were buried at Oaklawn Cemetery, the mayor announced in April 2023. Efforts continue to find the remains of other victims of a mob’s two-day attack in the city’s segregated but prosperous Greenwood neighborhood. An estimated 300 Black people died there.
Preserve the Past, Build for the Future - Preserving African American Burial Sites
One of the largest preservation efforts for Black burial sites focuses on two cemeteries in and adjoining the city of Richmond. East End Cemetery is considered one of the area’s most significant memorial gardens because its opening in 1897 gave Black mourners a dignified place to grieve and remember those who died. Among those interred were doctors, ministers, and bankers.
The African Burial Ground in New York City
The rediscovery of the "Negroes Buriel Ground" in New York City stands as a pivotal moment in understanding the history of enslavement in the United States. During survey work, the largest and most important archeological discovery was made: unearthing the "Negroes Buriel Ground"- a 6-acre burial ground containing upwards of 15,000 intact skeletal remains of enslaved and free Africans who lived and worked in colonial New York. The burial ground’s rediscovery altered the understanding and scholarship surrounding enslavement and its contribution to constructing New York City.
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Memorialization and research of the enslaved African skeletal remains were negotiated extensively between the General Services Administration, the African American descendant community, historians, archeologists, and anthropologists, including city and state political leaders. Civic engagement led to the ancestral remains' reinterment within the original site of rediscovery.
As the preservation of Black burial grounds progresses across the US, crucial pieces of the puzzle are emerging to further our understanding of the nation’s history.
