Fixing a grave situation

Kudos to the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill for restoring the dignity of the black section of the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

The section has been neglected long enough.

Last week, the society conducted a survey for the purpose of locating lost graves in the historically black section of the cemetery.

There’s a lack of recorded burials in that section. George Clarke, who was white, was the first person recorded to be buried in the cemetery in 1798. But the first black person to be recorded as buried in the cemetery was Ellington Burnett in 1853.

So there’s quite a gap in the records.

The preservation society notes that, obviously, both black and white people lived and died in the area during this 55-year gap, meaning there are probably many black people buried in the cemetery about whom we simply don’t know.

Discovering how many people are buried in the cemetery dignifies the lives of the men, women and children who might be buried there.

And dignity is something that has not always been extended to those buried in the black section.

During the UNC-Clemson game in 1985, some fans used the black section of the cemetery as a parking lot.

This action showed no respect for the lives that are remembered there.

The preservation society has been involved in the cemetery’s upkeep since that time.

Determining how many people should be remembered in the black section is another step toward ensuring that all the people buried in the cemetery are respected.

The black community is integral to Chapel Hill’s history and the University’s. Many of the community’s historic buildings were built off its sweat and toil.

The historic disrespect of the black section of the cemetery is an injustice that needs to be corrected, and the preservation society is doing exactly that.