Kay and I spent the day at the St Johns-Settlement area photographing the grave structures there, which may be of interest to some (Go to "Research Sites" down the right hand column).
As many know, I'm adamant about correcting the lack of documented history on both St Johns and Vinings Black communities - a grave omission to date (literally)...Quoting Kevin Whitelaw from an article he wrote in the Dec 3, 2007 Newsweek : “Older African-American cemeteries have suffered in particular because many look unkempt and are frequently written off as abandoned. But the scruffy appearance is a deliberate part of the tradition. Historically, there was little money for formal landscaping. While graves were sometimes marked by stone, wood, or ornamental plantings, others were left purposely unmarked. Either way, these cemeteries often remain an active part of the local African-American communities.”
This would be true if a community remained, which does not in Vinings, and in the process of being removed in the Settlement area of South Cobb. The church was the magnet of socialization and ritual. Once gone, the center of community fades as well, leaving the dilemma of sanctity with those of late and new community to grapple with. That is, if development has preserved cemeteries in the course of planning in the first place.
Mr Whitelaw goes on in his article to cite Michael Trinkley, an anthropologist who runs the Chicora Foundation, a nonprofit that specializes in preservation of cemeteries. “…people were buried there with the expectation of eternal rest, and that is one of our responsibilities as a society.” The question he raises is blunt: “ How would you feel if it was your family buried here, and a politician decided they were not important.”
