ABOUT ME

I am Natasha Washington, a recent Master of Heritage Preservation graduate of Georgia State University. During my tenure, I was involved in a cemetery survey of Mary Field Cemetery on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, in February of 2023 documenting over sixty existing grave markers and conducting a GPS survey of the land, locating over seventy unmarked graves. Since that time, I have become professionally interested in the location, preservation, and documentation of cemeteries, and have visited and documented twelve historically Black cemeteries in Georgia. Using the knowledge gained from extensive research and understanding of Black cemeteries, as well as fieldwork, I created this space to help those groups, organizations, and individuals getting started with cemetery preservation. Whether you need help forming an LLC, organizing community clean-up days, or researching descendants, this website is a one-stop for your many needs. I am happy to help you directly, as well, so feel free to email me here.

“They sat up with the corpse all night and the next day had a funeral an’ when they started to the burial ground with the body everybody in the whole procession would sing hymns. I’ve heard ‘em ‘nough times clear ‘cross the fields, singin’ and moanin’ as they went.”

~Arrie Bends, Georgia Slave Narratives

A depiction of an enslaved burial ceremony, Suriname, 1850.

History of Black Burial Practices: 101

The history of Africans in Georgia doesn’t begin or end with enslavement. As early as 1526, Africans accompanied Spanish and French explorers to this territory that would become the 13th state in the union. Founding Georgia in 1735 on self-sufficiency, James Oglethorpe banned enslavement, although he utilized South Carolinian enslaved labor to clear pine forest for the new town of Savannah. By 1751, however, due to immense pressure from planters, slavery was legalized by royal decree of King George II, and by 1775, more than fifty percent of Georgia’s population consisted of enslaved people. Free people of color and the Afro-Indigenous also created roots in Georgia, creating a mix, or creolization, of African, Native, and European beliefs, customs, and practices that would influence all aspects of daily life. As the enslaved had very little control over their own time and space, one of the few times enslavers allowed Black people to fellowship and commune was during funeral and burial processions. The burial, which usually took place within one day of death, sometimes occurred weeks or months before the funeral sermon service to allow for travel of attendees from surrounding plantations. Vigils would last through the night and consist of wrapping the body of the deceased in cloth, mourning, praying, and singing hymns, if permitted by enslavers. These West African, Muslim-aligned traditions provided the backdrop, but the hymns contained varying beliefs and hidden meanings to escort the dead to eternal life and console the living, such as “Hark from the Tomb” and “I Don’t Want You to Grieve After Me,” after more of a connection with Christianity was made during the early nineteenth century, when the enslaved attended segregated church services with White people.

Unknown Artist, A Congo Chieftain’s grave, ca. 1830, West Central Africa. Century Magazine, Vol. I.

Daffodils, not native to Georgia, are a possible indicator of gravesites, as well as lilies, yucca, and palmetto plants. These daffodils were found at Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery in Pine Mountain, GA, and the palmetto in Pierce Chapel African Burial Ground, Midland, GA.

Using objects that were owned by the deceased or natural materials in their environments, enslaved people carved out cemetery spaces to honor and guide their loved ones back across the water. Often, these landscapes were on plantation land considered unproductive. Here, the enslaved could enact their beliefs on the environment while honoring the dead. West African representation in Georgia was comprised of those from West Central Africa, Sierra Leone, the Bight of Benin, and Senegambia, but, per Professor France Ntloedibe, “although the slave trade and slavery were horrific experiences, they were not destructive enough to destroy the sense of cultural "oneness" among different cultural groups of African captives.” Offerings are one important way that Black cemeteries stand out from others. When containing pre-Civil War graves, more than likely you will see materials other than traditional, Western concepts of headstones and grave markers. Personal objects of the deceased, such as the last cup or pot they used (attributed to the BaKongo people, who believed these vessels held traces of their owners’ energy); porcelain, tin, or glassware objects (Lower Congo); or, closer to the coast, shells such as conch or whelk can be found (shells were thought to carry the soul and mimic the water in BaKongo traditions). “Depending on the culture, West Africans explained grave goods in a variety of ways: as gifts to the ancestors the deceased were about to meet, as necessities to assist them on their journey and residence in the spirit world, to ensure that they would not be ashamed at having insufficient possessions in their new home; or to help them maintain the same position in the afterlife that they enjoyed before death.” Another aspect of African ceremony is burials in an east-west orientation, with their heads facing east, but there were times this was not possible due to limited space or other conditions. These practices serve as more than decoration; they remind us that Black people in America did not forget or denounce their African roots; instead, they adapted and changed them to accommodate their new environment and blend of beliefs.

Grave offerings: A pot, cup, and various glass containers found at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Pine Mountain, Georgia. These items are said by Dr. John Michael Vlad to be “a representation of water and serve as an intermediary between the living and the dead” or “a practice developed by enslaved Africans who attempted to break the bond of slavery for their loved ones symbolically breaking artifacts and placing them on their graves.” A hole would be made, or the bottom of the vessel would be removed or broken to prevent the spirit from returning.

The first Black benevolent society was formed by free Blacks in Philadelphia, called the free African Union Society in 1787. These early “insurance” associations collected annual funds to assist their members, and others in the community, in their time of need: whether in illness or death. Many of these early societies where also invested in the Return-to-Africa movement through the 18th century. By 1848, W.E.B. DuBois had identified over 100 benevolent organizations across the North. As Robert L. Harris, Jr. stated, “The benevolent societies combined African heritage with American conditions to transform an amorphous free black population into a distinct free black community.” After the Civil War, Black churches and communities followed suit and formed benevolent societies in the South to help the newly freed population. They established their own new cemeteries, usually in churchyards, but they could also be found on familial or communal land, such as Southview Cemetery in Atlanta or the Black Pioneers Cemetery in Euharlee. Cemeteries were still segregated, and land acquisition was difficult. However, the need to provide decent burials for all African Americans was great, and these societies helped filled the gap. During the Civil Rights Movement, funerals took on a new meaning as the fight for equality led to violent encounters between Southern whites who didn’t want to see Black people vote, integrate public spaces, and become a valued part of society. Funerals for victims of racist-fueled deaths became a part of the movement, revealing the turmoil and vitriol of the South to the rest of the United States, such as Emmett Till’s in 1955, which many believe signaled the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.

Several cemeteries have been located in GA, but there

are still so many to uncover...

The King family crypt and John Wesley Dobbs’ gravesite at Southview Cemetery. The cemetery was started by six Black business men in Atlanta for Black residents in 1886.

Remnants of West African burial practices can still be seen in today’s African American traditions. In New Orleans, it is still customary to have celebrations, or “second line,” during funeral processions. Grave offerings such as coins, shells, or objects belonging to the deceased can still be found decorating graves, signifying loved ones have visited. Cemeteries are still considered sacred ground. Over time, these spaces have been largely neglected and abandoned due to several factors. Due to the areas in which these cemeteries were created prior to the Civil War, the more natural, simpler grave markers that are associated with enslaved burials, and the general apathy toward Black American history, many of them now exist in forests, on private land, or among urban development spaces, if they haven’t been disturbed or re-interred. Maintenance often falls to a private entity, and can run the gamut of success. These sacred, historic sites are proving to be one of the last bastions of genealogical and archaeological information regarding the enslaved, but also a window into the ways in which Black people throughout centuries in this country expressed their love, reverence, and longing for their people and native land, through burial rituals and practices that can still be found today throughout the South. Funeral and burial rites were continued generation after generation, and many live on even today from those earlier West African traditions. Without perpetual care measures in place for decades, these spaces can be overtaken by vegetation, which makes them a magnet for vandalism, trash dumping, and other disrespectful acts on this sacred land. It is imperative to alert the local public and descendant communities to the existence of these places, so the proper maintenance and attention can be taken to honor our ancestors’ final resting places while providing a historical touchstone for future generations.

Piney Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Buckhead, GA. After years of neglect from the HOA owners, descendants are now taking legal action. This cemetery is dated pre-Civil War.

Red Hill Cemetery in Waycross, Georgia was documented by the University of North Florida Jacksonville in 2018 but is still in need of restoration and repair work. The Okefenokee Heritage Center has continual fundraising efforts.

Want to dive deeper into cemetery history? Check out these preservation publications: