Building Over African American Cemeteries Not Just a Southern Problem

#perspective

“Historic African American burial grounds have been overlooked, vandalized, bodies have been robbed out of grave for medical cadavers and then built upon across the country, in the North and the South,” Rainville said. “It is not just a Southern issue. It is directly connected to the residue of racism and the past and in the present.”

Historic African American cemeteries have faced significant challenges across the United States, not just in the South. Lynn Rainville, an anthropology professor at Washington and Lee University, sheds light on this issue. These burial grounds have been overlooked, vandalized, and even built upon, both in the North and the South.

The reasons behind their disappearance are tied to Reconstruction and racism. After the Civil War, as emancipation and freedom led to outmigration from the South, many African Americans left behind cemeteries. Over time, fewer people knew where these sites were, making maintenance and regular visits difficult.

Recently, there has been a growing movement to protect and preserve these historic cemeteries, including proposed legislation to create an African-American Burial Grounds Network within the National Park Service.