[Durham INC] Geer Cemetery, Durham's Original African-American Cemetery

[Tom Miller]

The Friends of Geer Cemetery is launching a program about the Geer Cemetery,
Durham's first public African-American burying ground.  The program is
called "In Plain Sight" and will include ten large storyboards in the
cemetery itself, tours, and three virtual programs about the cemetery and
its place in the African-American experience in Durham's history.  

 

IN PLAIN SIGHT, Reflections Past & Actions Present in Durham's Geer Cemetery

JANUARY 23 - MARCH 7, 2021

An outdoor educational exhibit, In Plain Sight is a journey through the
history of Durham and Geer Cemetery, an African American burial ground
founded in 1877. 

 

PROGRAMS:

January 23           Virtual Opening

January 30, February 13, and February 27             Small-Group Tours

February 3          Virtual Tour & Public Conversation

February 20        Virtual Panel Discussion with Vanessa Hines, William
Sturkey, Angela Thorpe, and Andre Vann

 

The FOGC has set up a webpage telling more about the program.  The link for
that is  <http://DurhamInPlainSight.com> DurhamInPlainSight.com.  

 

Geer Cemetery was created in 1877 by three African-American men to provide a
burial place for Durham's black population.  In 1872, the city created
Maplewood for white citizens but created no public cemetery for
African-Americans.  This four-acre cemetery served that role from 1877 until
1925 when the city created Beechwood Cemetery for black residents under the
separate-but-equal doctrine.  By then, the Geer cemetery was essentially
full, although burials continued for another decade as families used the
spaces they had purchased.  The city closed Geer by order due to
over-crowding in the 1930s.  During the decades that followed the cemetery
was essentially abandoned and became overgrown and forgotten.  During the
early 2000s, the Friends of Geer Cemetery was formed by Kelly Bryant and
others to save the cemetery.  During the last two years the Friends
organization has redoubled its efforts by renewing clean-up efforts,
performing significant research into burials, and by becoming incorporated
and obtaining tax-exempt status.  

 

 

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