Restoring Memories

The Revival of African American Cemeteries and the Ties that Bind Generations

Geer Cemetery, Durham, North Carolina

Written By Guest Contributing Writer Marc S. Friedman

What is the role of a cemetery? Is it merely a venue for funerals? Or does it function primarily as a site to honor the deceased? 

Should it be seen as just a location for sporadic visits, where flowers and keepsakes are left on specific occasions? Or does a cemetery embody something greater than these functions?

In his ground-breaking new book, “Cemetery Citizens: Reclaiming the Past and Working for Justice in American Burial Grounds,” author Adam Rosenblatt, an Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University, skillfully focuses on the reclamation of long-neglected African American cemeteries to answer many of these questions.  

"Cemetery Citizens" begins by introducing us to groups of volunteers, referred to as "cemetery citizens," who are banding together across America. Their mission is to restore and preserve abandoned, neglected, or desecrated African American cemeteries. 

These sites are vital pieces of both Black history and the broader historical narrative of our nation. Those participating range from descendants of those interred in these plots to non-descendants who are passionately dedicated to reclaiming these sacred spaces. 

This diverse group includes long standing community members as well as newcomers, some of whom share identities with the deceased, while others come from more privileged backgrounds. United by a common purpose, they are focused on the renewal and revival of these long-overlooked African American cemeteries.

Rosenblatt highlights three such cemeteries: Geer Cemetery in Durham, North Carolina; East End Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia; and sections of Mount Moriah Historic Cemetery and Arboretum near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Despite their different settings and conditions, these burial sites share a history marked by enslavement, systemic racism, loss, and neglect. 

In some areas, headstones still mark the graves, while in others, grave markers have never existed or have been lost or destroyed. In all cases, nature has reclaimed the land, with overgrown trees and vegetation, along with wildlife and insects, dominating the landscape.

As the author Rosenblatt writes….

“….revising a cemetery means taking a degraded landscape and reassigning value to it: making it accessible, exposing hidden grave markers, doing research, telling stories. A successful reclamation effort draws attention to a cemetery, making it more visually attractive and more obviously a ‘resource’ – a place of heritage, a place with stories people want to hear.” 

This is where “Cemetery Citizens” is such an important and fascinating book. African American cemeteries are rich in cultural and spiritual significance. They may contain unique burial practices, tombstone designs, and rituals that reflect the traditions and beliefs of African American communities. By reclaiming and restoring these cemeteries, we safeguard this cultural heritage for future generations.

In addition, neglect of African American cemeteries often reflect broader patterns of systemic racism that have long existed in our nation. Many of these cemeteries are in marginalized neighborhoods, many of which have been historically segregated. Some of these cemeteries have been bisected by highways or encroached upon by commercial and industrial development. 

Reclaiming these spaces, asserts the author, is a form of social justice — an attempt to rectify past injustices and affirm the dignity and worth of all individuals, regardless of race. This comes at a pivotal time where highlighting narratives of systemic racism in America have been increasingly discouraged, if not prohibited.

Before writing this review, I had the opportunity to visit a local New Jersey African American cemetery that had been reclaimed from the deplorable conditions that existed there for many decades. While the grave markers are long gone, there is a small memorial honoring those who had been buried there. 

The park-like grounds that were overgrown and neglected, are now cared for; the lush grass is neatly cut, and the trees and bushes are carefully trimmed. It is a sacred space that is visually appealing and serene, the result of work performed by “cemetery citizens” with the cooperation of our municipal government, the same work performed by resolute communities of people across America.

In the past, I visited the graves of my parents, albeit too infrequently. I visited my grandparents’ cemetery even less frequently. I am not proud of this. When I did visit the graves of deceased relatives, it was to pay my respects and briefly recall the good times we spent together. 

Admittedly though, I often wandered among these headstones and footstones without much consideration for the stories they concealed. The gravestones, much like those in the African American cemeteries Rosenblatt explored, marked the final resting places of real individuals—some of whom had lived long lives, others cut tragically short. 

Each grave holds the remains of a person who experienced life's vast expanse, while symbolizing tales of resilience and survival, especially among those who endured enslavement. These individuals lived through significant historical moments that shaped their existence, influencing their triumphs and trials alike.

Rosenblatt's work on "Cemetery Citizens" profoundly shifted my perspective, not only about African American cemeteries but about all such resting places, including those in my own community. I now understand that cemeteries are more than grounds of repose; they are vital links that connect familial, historical, and cultural threads across generations. Through his research and writing, Rosenblatt has not only enlightened but offered an invaluable service by rekindling these connections and honoring the lives that once were.

---

Adam Rosenblatt

To conclude, below is a feature interview discussion I (Marc Friedman) had with Adam Rosenblatt, author of “Cemetery Citizens” where he adds some interesting background and context to my commentary above: 

Adam, thanks for a terrific book. How did you become interested in neglected African American burial grounds?

AR: My interest has its roots in being the grandson of Holocaust survivors. I grew up knowing that my family tree had mostly vanished into ash and unmarked graves—that my grandparents had lost almost everyone who made up their world, but they had no graves to visit.

In 2017, I read Brian Palmer’s essay in the New York Times, “For the Forgotten African American Dead,” which was about reclaiming African American burial grounds in Richmond, Virginia. This opened my eyes further to the way race still differentiates Americans in death, and to the amazing work going on in Black cemeteries nationwide.

Does your interest extend to neglected burial grounds other than for deceased African Americans?

AR: Yes. I am interested in other kinds of burial grounds that feature histories of neglect, but also opportunities for memory and repair. I spent a lot of time in the burial grounds of asylums, psychiatric hospitals, and disability institutions. I also visited an old Jewish cemetery outside Philadelphia that is being reclaimed, and many other burial sites.

What inspired you to write “Cemetery Citizens”?

AR: Beautiful places and beautiful people. Going out with a diverse group of people, putting your body into the work of reclaiming a space, laughing, and grieving and having hard conversations… this may sound strange, but cemetery workdays are among the most actively democratic spaces I have ever experienced.

How long did it take to write “Cemetery Citizens”?

AR: About six years.

Why did you choose East End, Geer, and Mount Moriah as the focus of “Cemetery Citizens”?

AR: East End, Geer, and Mount Moriah share some similar histories, for example, starting as rural or tucked-away spaces that eventually became much more urban—and all of them have been victimized by racialized urban planning. But at the same time, they are different in ways that I thought added a lot to the book.

What has most impressed you about the cemetery citizens you have met?

AR: Their tenacity and their care.

Do you consider yourself to be a cemetery citizen?

AR: After years of working alongside them and learning from them… yes, I do!

What would you like your readers to take away from “Cemetery Citizens”?

AR: We live in landscapes of memory where the dead are still present. For too long, those landscapes have told some stories and not others, dignifying some people’s dead and not others. There are many ways to change that which I describe in the book. 

Readers may or may not become cemetery citizens, but I hope they’ll be inspired by this idea of “scrappy care” I introduce in the book—that almost anywhere you live, there are people who are figuring out, together, how to care for the places they live and reclaim their full histories. They are taking matters into their own hands, literally—in ways that should be inspiring to all of us.

---

Our guest contributing writer Mr. Friedman was a trial lawyer for five decades and now is an Executive Coach. He graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a B.A degree in Philosophy and from The George Washington University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree with Honors.

---