Ryan Smith, Associate Professor of History, Virginia Commonwealth University
Proposal Type: Roundtable
Seeking: Additional Presenters, Specific Expertise,General Feedback and Interest
Abstract: Richmond, Virginia has witnessed new activist and preservationist energies directed toward its historic burial grounds. The African Burial Ground made national news recently when the mayor proposed building an adjacent ballpark, while Evergreen Cemetery, a historic African-American cemetery, has been the site of monumental volunteer cleanup efforts. Students at VCU have studied the sites and publicized their research via podcasts and research papers, etc. Are we in a “tipping point” moment where overlooked components of the Southern landscape are receiving their due?
Seeking: Proposal could take the form of roundtable discussion, working group, pecha kucha, structured conversation, or even traditional panel. I have not participated at the NCPH conference, so am excited to explore potential with others from any background, region, or institution. At base, I am interested in engaging with others regarding cemetery historic preservation and activism, or regarding the use of digital tools for such work.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to share contact information for other people the proposer should reach out to, please get in contact directly: Ryan Smith,rksmith3[at]vcu.edu
If you have general ideas or feedback to share please feel free to use the comments feature below.
All feedback, and offers of assistance, should be submitted by July 3, 2015.
Related Topics: Material Culture, Preservation
I have been involved with legal cases regarding cemetery access and preservation, studied in depth the history of cemetery desecration and preservation since the nineteenth century, and installed headstones on the unmarked graves of famous musicians to protect rural cemeteries from being plowed over and planted with row crops. The line between preservation and exposure is thin, and the concept of due respect is highly subjective. One person’s tipping point towards respect might be another’s towards disgust. Some folks interpret endeavors for preservation as self-serving, exploitative intrusions–as an outsiders valorization of specific elements of the past to establish moral authority. I am hosting a panel discussion at the Oxford Blues Festival on July 18 which includes the two gentleman from http://www.killerblues.net/ It should be productive, and I am willing to help push the boundaries of this academic discussion as well…
D L Henderson, PhD, is actively working to interpret African American history at Oakland and South-View cemeteries in Atlanta, including living history. She describes the history of Oakland and various interpretive activities in “Imagining Slave Square,” chapter 10 in Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites, edited by me (Rowman and Littlefield, 2014).
Ryan,
Another useful angle might be to engage with the scholarship on memory/sites of memory. How do cemeteries and burial grounds fit into community/regional memory? Into the history of remembering/forgetting? One recent work is Greg Dickinson et al, _Places of Public Memory: The Rhetoric of Museums and Memorials_ (2010).
-Melinda Jette