Central Pa Black Cemeteries | WITF Radio
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 does an incredible job outlining all of the difficulties we were in store for at Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg “due to the state’s weak cemetery laws, the work of preserving historic African American cemeteries often falls on volunteers….” In 2023 new type of support and resources are starting to emerge across the state of Pennsylvania, and nationwide. It will take a long time to repair the damage that has been done, we face hurdles of historic proportions, when trying to save central Pa Black Cemeteries
You don’t have to empty your pockets to support SOAL’s work at Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery– join us for a Restoration weekend; spread the word; recruit volunteers; organize a fundraiser through PayPal or on a social media platform of your choice!
Williams, who still drives from Buffalo to work at the cemetery in Harrisburg, said what she and others are doing goes beyond preserving the memory of individuals. The neglect of Black cemeteries, she said, is a form of erasure. “That kind of violence against bodies, against history, against an identity, it continues into the living,” she said. Respect for the dead means respect for the living, she said, and “it gives you grounding and a sense of, ‘I’m valued, and my body’s valued,’ and other people see that too, and you’re not lost.”
“In central Pa., historic Black cemeteries often lay hidden. These Groups Work to Ensure They’re Not Forgotten.” Online. WITF. Central Pennsylvania: National Public Radio, November 11, 2021. https://www.witf.org/2021/11/11/in-central-pa-historic-black-cemeteries-often-lay-hidden-these-groups-work-to-ensure-theyre-not-forgotten/.
Check out Gabriela Martínez and listen to the NPR segment at the link below:
In central Pa., historic Black cemeteries often lay hidden. These groups work to ensure they’re not forgotten | WITF
— Read & Listen on www.witf.org/2021/11/11/in-central-pa-historic-black-cemeteries-often-lay-hidden-these-groups-work-to-ensure-theyre-not-forgotten/
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