Welcome to PAAC's Online Resources
We are pleased to be in the position
to provide you with an opportunity to convene, network, and learn innovated
techniques to research and provide perpetual care of cemeteries.
As history dictates, many African American cemeteries have never been
registered, are rarely documented, infrequently appear on maps, and are almost
never shown on historic plats. African American cemeteries, many of which are
considered “slave burial grounds” have been used for generations by tradition
and are rarely described by deeds or other legal instruments. It is not until
the misfortune of development that many in the community realize the cemetery
has never been in the possession of the community.
Vital information is being lost because many cemetery caretakers are not well
versed in preservation issues, they may burn off areas of the cemetery
destroying funeral home markers that contain vital information of the deceased,
or they may haul away broken or obliterated stones, leaving graves unmarked and
resulting in the loss of valuable historical and genealogical information.
This is why it is so vitally important for PAAC to educate the humanities on the
preservation and documentation of African American cemeteries and we are excited
that by being here you have answered the call of your church, community, and
those ancestors that are “rolling over in their graves” because of the condition
of their final resting place.
Let us now rise up and make a difference for the future of our cemeteries. Let
us now go forth with a renewed vision, that we won't stop until we have made a
siginificant difference in their preservation.
Sincerely,
Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis
PAAC Co-founder, President
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