I began trying to restore Lincoln Cemetery July 2021, when I traveled to PA to find the graves of my formerly-enslaved ancestors who fled from Fauquier County, Virginia to Harrisburg during the Civil War and after. When we arrived it was only a few weeks after memorial day, but Lincoln Cemetery most closely resembled an overgrown pile of felled trees and discarded brush. The only grave markers we could see were sinking and broken. We could not locate our formerly enslaved ancestors, but we found many mounds of fresh dirt and human remains throughout the cemetery. We left Lincoln Cemetery that day with an overwhelming sense of defeat and despair. When I arrived home, in Buffalo, NY, I tried to make a police report about the remains that we found. Unfortunately, there are no Pennsylvania Laws that effectively protect cemeteries. I could not turn my back on the ancestors who live there.
First Professional Black Artist in Pacific Northwest is from Harrisburg, PA: trailblazing 19th Century Black Artist Grafton Tyler Brown: cartographer, craftsman, communicator, documentarian, entrepreneur, and pioneer.
Continue reading →Family Historian Flays Sisters as Journalist Watches deeply disturbing article published by The Guardian, on Sunday, September 4th… Their names were Annie, Agnes and Margaret McWatters. And On a rainy day in May, they drew Ryan Nott’s attention.
Continue reading →This is my Endgame. It’s time to gather ancestors… At SOAL we are saving our ancestors legacy. We will do it bone by bone if we have to. We’re gonna need them where we trying to go: We can’t have a future without a past. I’m not trying to leave anyone behind, … Continue reading →
Still Jumping Historic Hurdles Saving Central PA Black Cemeteries In October of 2021, the year SOAL began work at Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg, I had a chance to speak with Gabriela Martínez, of WITF –NPR Central Pennsylvania about how and why I started caring so deeply about Central Pa Black Cemeteries Gabriela … Continue reading →
after the apocalypse is a visual poem, inspired by SOAL’s restoration work at Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery. Taking a creative and radical approach to Black History Reclamation–video and poetry by Rachael Keri Williams. after the apocalypse… i’m gonna start a rainbow cult I’m going to start a rainbow worship cultAnd all The ancestors … Continue reading →
SOAL’s Lincoln Cemetery Restoration Year 1 Video Montage Since finding human remains on the ground in June 2021 at Harrisburg’s oldest historically Black burial ground, Lincoln Cemetery, a small but growing cadre of volunteers have been dedicated to Saving Our Ancestors Legacy using best-practice least-harm historic preservation methods. We have recovered headstones … Continue reading →
