[Posted Mar. 5, 2008]

Funds Sought To Restore Black National Cemetery

   Donations are being sought to repair the Woodlawn Cemetery, a national resting place in Washington, D.C., which contains the remains of many prominent Africans Americans such as the first black U.S. Senator and the wife of the first black U.S. Army general.
    Containing about 36,000 grave sites that date back to the 19th cemetery, the cemetery was listed as a national historic site in the 1990s. About $3 million is needed to bring the cemetery to a level of respectability.
   “There have not been capital improvements to the grounds in 25 years,” said Tyrone F. General, president of the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association.
    The historic resting place contains tombstones which bear the names of many prominent, early-day African Americans. Names restorers will enter into an electronic database.
   “This would be a tremendous educational benefit for the youth of today,” said General, who would like to restore the cemetery and organize field trips. Then students could learn more about early-day American leaders, who were also black.
    The cemetery contains the remains of some of the nation’s first black physicians, government workers, educators, writers, and even the first black to serve in the Congressional Library.
To learn more about the fundraising effort, call (202)217-1030; or visit mhcdo.org/Woodlawn_brochure. 

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