It is not often one is completely surprised. Old Br'er was laid out cold not too long ago when he learned of a massive cemetery in his hometown that he had no idea existed.
Now, to be fair, there are perfectly good and totally valid reasons for this gap in his knowledge.
If you are at all aware of history - particularly the history of the South, then you are aware of the Segregation Era. I daresay that there are far fewer folks reading this that experienced and recall those days than those who didn't. That makes it all the more difficult for the younger group to identify and fathom a cemetery like this one - a segregated cemetery - a Black cemetery.
Most Black cemeteries have commonalities that easily identify them. But not Gospel Pilgrim. It is truly different!
Rather than being small, it is somewhere in the 10-12 acre size.
Rather than the small, temporary marker provided by the funeral home or the inexpensive hand-made concrete marker from the funeral home so often seen, the marked graves are almost all large, professionally made stone markers.
Rather than one or two (if any) footpaths, this had complete streets (though they are in dire danger of being totally reclaimed by nature).
Rather than closed and abandoned, it is still active, much as its appearance tries to belie that truth.
Rather than dating from around Emancipation, it has at least a few antebellum burials, which would indicate free Blacks, something rare for the time and place.
Nothing a winch and a few strong lads could not set right.
One of the "streets" still visible, if not in good repair.
I cannot recall seeing a dove on the headstone of a 91-year-old before. Usually, these tend to be used on markers for younger people.
Service Battalions, Quartermaster Corps, Depot Brigades, and Pioneer Troops dating from World War I invariably refer to segregated troops.
No comments:
Post a Comment