Category Archives: African American
Memorial: God’s Little Acre, Newport
As a Midwesterner, I grew up believing that slavery only happened in the South and that the northern states, especially New England, were all abolistionists at heart. That changed when I started working on a project in Rhode Island. I … Continue reading
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Books: Over My Dead Body
Link: Over My Dead Body There are over 144,000 cemeteries in the United States, according to author Greg Melville, and he’s visited a lot of them and cataloged some of his visits in Over My Dead Body. ALthough some books … Continue reading
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Memorial Day 2024
Mermorial Day is an interesting holiday for me. I truly give thanks for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and there is something about the solemnity of national cemeteries like the Ohio Reserve National Cemetery that … Continue reading
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Memorials: Lake View Cemetery Overview
Lake View Cemetery is a garden style cemetery locaed in 1869 on 211 acres on Cleveland’s east side. It is modeled after other gaden style cemeteries including Mount Auburn in Cambridge, MA and Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadephia. Garden style, … Continue reading
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Evaluating Black Cemeteries
Link: Evaluation of Black Cemeteries As part of my coursework at Marian University, I took a fascinating course in African American Deathways and part of this work was to study and evaluate black cemeteries by answering questions posed by our … Continue reading
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Academic: Black Female Mortality and Reduced Abortion Access
Link: Black Female Mortality and Reduced Abortion Access Black women, regardless of education or wealth, have always been more likely than White women to die due to pregnancy related complications. Abortion restrictions, which have also decreased the availability of maternal … Continue reading
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Balanced and Sane
Note: This was written as part of my coursework in Thanantology at Marian University. African American Homegoing celebrations are a time of tears and laughter. As Isiah Owens, a NYC Funeral Home Director, said, “Death and funerals have kept African … Continue reading
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Academic: Black Funeral Directors and Civil Rights
Link: Black Funeral Directors and Civil Rights Despite being legally freed by the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1963, African Americans were still in economic and social bondage after the Civil War. In the years immediately following the Civil War, … Continue reading
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Academic: Africa and Death
This post was written as part of a course in African American Deathways at Marian University. The Africa of my childhood was a fierce and exotic land where elephants and lions roamed free and where barely clad warriors fought with … Continue reading
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Academic: Africanisms in Homegoing Ceremonies
Note: This was written for a class in African American Deathways for a course at Marian University. The sounds of gospel music, church hymns, and spirituals rise to the rafters during African American Homegoing service as neighbors, friends, and relatives … Continue reading
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