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Every day" students walk past the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery on the way to class without realizing it is the last segregated space on campus.
The Delta Sigma Theta sorority sponsored a cemetery cleanup to beautify part of the space and educate people on the significance of the South Road landmark as part of the Campus Y's Race Relations Week.
A rock wall separates sections A and B from the rest of the cemetery said Brittany Hill vice president of Delta Sigma Theta. Sections A and B are where black University workers some of whom were slaves are buried.
The resting place also holds many famous figures that paved the way for the foundation of the University such as Edward Kidder Graham William Coker William Carmichael
Jr. and Louis Round Wilson.
Samuel Field Phillips a lawyer who helped challenge segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson is buried in the cemetery.
Not all the gravestones bear famous names; some have no names at all.
The cemetery under the University's watch since 1988 is now almost full and all the plots have been purchased.
The first recorded burial was of a Burke County student George Clarke who passed away Sept. 28 1798.
Hill said that despite the rich history of the cemetery it is consistently littered. The event was aimed at raising awareness of the ongoing vandalism problem.
Five 19th century headstones were smashed the day before renowned journalist Charles Kuralt was buried in the cemetery in 1997.
In the 1970s 40 to 50 gravestones were broken at the base.
In 1985" impatient football fans even parked in Sections A and B. Hill said those two sections are not as nice as the others and lack trees.
Participants picked up trash and unruly weeds Monday in an attempt to reverse the damage done over the years.
""People who have already died go unrecognized"" said sophomore Porsche Governor, who helped with the cleanup.
They don't have a gardener. This cemetery goes unnoticed. It's good to show respect for the deceased.""
The other sections do not have an official gardener" either but family members of the deceased make sure it is kept up Governor said.
Senior Amelia Black who also helped with the cleanup" said the graveyard awareness effort is in keeping with the goal of Race Relations Week.
""There's clearly a lot of restoration needed. I feel like if the chancellor is buried here it wouldn't look like this with beer cans.""
Sophomore Olubunmi Fashusi said the event served as a chance to learn about different cultures.
""We can learn about one another's cultures"" Fashusi said. You don't have to be African-American.""
But Governor said she hoped that in the future there would be ""more events than just black people come out to support.""
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