Old Chapel Hill Cemetery vandalized ahead of dedication ceremony

A historic gravestone marker in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery was removed Feb. 29 after various complaints were made about the lack of a dedication ceremony.

It read “Here rests in honored glory 361 American persons of color known but to god.”

The long-awaited ceremony for the marker will take place Sunday at 4 p.m., according to Debra Lane, administrative assistant for the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation department.

The ceremony will honor the lives of those buried in the historically African-American section of the cemetery.

It will include a small reception, Lane said, and attendees can park on Raleigh Road.

The Cemeteries Advisory Board met Sept. 14 to discuss various topics, including the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery marker ceremony.

During the meeting, the topic of vandalism came up.

Jim Orr, director of Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation, noticed black spray paint on the cemetery gazebo Wednesday afternoon at approximately 2:35 p.m.

He was doing a walk-through before the marker ceremony on Sunday.

Orr said a member of the group contacted campus security once they saw the graffiti.

As of about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Chapel Hill Police Department Spokesperson Joshua Mecimore said he wasn’t aware of the graffiti.

A Daily Tar Heel staff member photographed the graffiti around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The graffiti on the gazebo read “Devil White Race.”

Orr said he couldn’t tell what the graffiti said.

He said he did vaguely make out the word “white” and “race,” but he wasn’t sure about the first word.

“I don’t know how long it had been there,” he said. “I just knew that we needed to get it removed.”

Orr said the black spray paint on the gazebo was removed Thursday morning.

“There may have been other signs of graffiti on a walkway that we have always taken care of,” Orr said.

Stanley Peele, retired judge and long-time Chapel Hill resident, said he wasn’t aware of the recent vandalism at Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

Peele said the cemetery is vandalized every so often.

“The first one that comes to my mind, quite a few years ago, folks drove their cars over that part of the cemetery that you have a large black space, right up-close to the dormitories,” he said.

There were people buried under that section of the cemetery.

“Years and years ago, someone was pushing over the headstones at the Old Chapel Hill cemetery,” Lane said.

However, she said this hasn’t happened for quite a long time.

Orr said he’s looking at the recent vandalism as a random act and not in relation to the ceremony.

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