Action Fund Continues Preserving Historical Black Cemeteries

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund continues its fight to restore and preserve historically Black cemeteries nationwide.

Many Black cemeteries were the sole places Black people could be buried with honor and dignity. However, systemic injustice and racism have left many of these burial grounds in deteriorating shape or abandoned. While many communities have come together to maintain these resting places, national organizations are joining the mission.

According to Capital B News, the action fund granted $50,000 to the Woodlawns cemetery in July. The Bronx-based, 400-acre grounds hold over 300,000 burial sites, including figures integral to the Harlem Renaissance. The cultural site remains the final resting place of Black legends such as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Cicely Tyson.

Accompanying the grant is an initiative to discover and promote the lives of those buried at Woodlawns. The “Where Harlem Rests” series honors these Black pioneers and icons. It will shed light on their stories from beyond the grave through tours and events starting in 2025.

“We’ve got this really substantial African American and Afro-Caribbean population here at Woodlawn, and that’s why we decided to go for this grant money. It’s time to really get the community to think beyond the Gilded Age at Woodlawn and beyond the jazz greats [to] the folks that made it happen in Harlem during the Renaissance,” said Susan Olsen, the cemetery’s director of historical services.

Launched by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2017, the fund has allocated over $3 million to historical and cultural Black sites this year. The grants, ranging from $50,000 to $155,000, aim to sustain these establishments for future generations.

“History is crucial to our nation’s understanding of where we’ve come from, who we are today, and how we envision our future,” expressed Brent Leggs, executive director of the fund, on its website. “These grants will support critical preservation efforts to revitalize and sustain tangible links to our shared past that we hope will inspire future generations.”

Two cemeteries, including Woodlawns, received the crucial funding. The other, Pierce Chapel African Cemetery in Midland, Georgia, has faced even more deterioration. Although it started around 1827 as a burial ground for enslaved people, tiny flags remain to signal where a grave lies.

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