Tennessee
Related: About this forumSometimes, Tennessee really makes me proud (despite most of its politicians)
Known only to God.
We dedicate this monument
with highest regard.
This monument is erected on behalf of
more than 500 African Americans buried here.
May they find eternal peace.
When the Gallatin City Cemetery was established in 1814, it was segregated, and many Black residents were buried in the back of the property.
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/so-much-more-than-a-gravesite-monument-for-500-unmarked-graves-in-gallatin?fbclid=IwAR148JDf2S6BT0BFDINxPOIxhawZck5hbPWfxlwGsp0bjM0IdZPeZNjqIoU
Farmer-Rick
(11,407 posts)The graveyard has some small tombstones in front that look like small pillars broken off too close to the ground. These 18, two foot pillars are covered with lichen which is what happens to everything around here if it doesn't keep moving.
These are slave graves and markers, with only dates of death and a cross chiseled into the granite.
Seems that years ago the church was on top the hill and the slaves were buried in the back of the grave yard. They were hidden in the back by the now giant maple trees, where no one could really see them.
Since then, the church has moved to the bottom of the hill by the road. Now the slaves are buried in the front of the graveyard, where they should be, for all the world to see.
Docreed2003
(17,805 posts)Thank you for sharing this!
70sEraVet
(4,145 posts)Docreed2003
(17,805 posts)I was raised in a farming community not far from Bledsoe, but went to GHS.