Last Thursday April 16th, ICS students presented research on the life histories of people buried in Geer Cemetery, a historic African American burial ground in Durham, North Carolina. This work - coordinated through Duke Service-Learning - was a component of the course "Death, Burial, and Justice in the Americas" (ICS283). The online event between students in ICS283 and the Friends of Geer Cemetery occurred via Zoom with nearly one hundred attendees.
Professor Adam Rosenblatt started by communicating how his view of public space has changed through his experiences with people who have taken him to neglected and abandoned cemeteries in Durham, Richmond, Philadelphia, Massachusetts and elsewhere. He notes the simultaneous work that is being done of preserving stories of the past, and current community gathering through new forms of public space. Although students had originally planned to host the event at the cemetery, where grave markers for some of the people they researched are still visible, he said, they were pleased to be able to share their work with a wide audience attending the event from many locations.
Students in Professor Rosenblatt’s service-learning course partnered with the Friends of Geer Cemetery, learning about genealogical research and cemetery preservation from them. In addition to visiting the cemetery multiple times, they also toured Stagville State Historic Site, on the former plantation where many people buried at Geer were born enslaved. The life histories the students wrote are set to be posted on the Geer Cemetery website and future Facebook posts.
Carissa Trotta, Board Member of Friends of Geer Cemetery, moderated the event. She introduced the powerful poetry reading written by Saralyn Carcy, “Remembering the Ones that No One Remembers.” Debra Taylor, President of Geer Cemetery and the Friends of Geer Cemetery, shared information about the commitment of this grassroots organization to preserve the future of African American burial grounds. They celebrate and honor the lives and legacies of those resting at the site through preservation, storytelling, education, and community-building. She noted that along with physical preservation, they ensure the recognition of contributions made by those who played a prominent part in Durham’s history.
The student research presentations followed. Zoe Gezelter started off explaining the difficulty she faced in acquiring information about the life of Ida Swepson (abt. 1868 – March 15, 1928). Countless stories can only be assembled from fragments, with many gaps, as there is little public information readily available. Thus, the work this class has done is crucial in assembling and conserving African American life histories—but also in marking and making inexplicit the inequalities in our archives and historical accounts.
Student Ruth Fetaw relayed her findings on the life of young scholar Rubby Farrow (1906-1925), who died at age 18 while attending school due to tuberculosis peritonitis complications. She attended the Mary Potter Academy and is believed to have been multilingual. Following this, Michael Reese presented on the life of Hubert Upchurch (abt. 1899 – May 18, 1928) who worked at the American Tobacco Company since age 16 in 1910. This may be related to his father’s death at a young age. After joining the military in 1918 with 85 other African American men in Durham, Hubert married within three months. He returned to working at the American Tobacco Company and lived with his sister, mother, and spouse. In 1928, his sister died at about the age of 26 and was buried at Geer Cemetery. On May 13, 1928, Hubert was killed by gunshot at approximately 29 years of age and was also buried at Geer Cemetery five days later.
Students presented on the lives of Durham leaders such as educator P.W. Dawkins (1862 – 1913) and Margaret Ruffin Faucette (1829 - 1922), who taught herself to read and write while enslaved. She later hosted prayer meetings in her home that gave rise to White Rock Baptist Church, one of Durham’s most important black churches, where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a sermon in 1960. Other life stories hold ties to Duke University, like the children of Cornelius Thompson (about 1870 -August 20) who held maid and janitor positions at Duke University and Hospital.
The class worked to find public files and historic records, piecing together documentation while tracking possible connections to these lives. Some of the research was done remotely and online due to COVID-19 halting travel. Older media sources utilized, like newspapers from the 1900s, derived from publications whose reporting on people of color was often negative, sensationalist, or condescending—for example, remembering them exclusively as well-liked by white employers. Students in the class confronted “corrupted” material, like other experts in the field of cemetery research, with tools that highlight the humanity and hardship behind archival portrayals of people of color.
The students received questions about their methods and experiences from many audience members, including the founder of the Collective for Radical Death Studies, Kami Fletcher, and a disability historian working in a mental hospital cemetery in Massachusetts, Alex Green. A descendant of someone buried in Geer Cemetery, Tschanna Taylor, also expressed her thanks to students and the Friends of Geer.
Senior Kayla Corredera-Wells closed off the event citing shared reflections from classmates Ruth Fetaw and Molly Mendoza: “We realize there is no such thing as true repair in this relationship, and that we cannot undo the pain or centuries of racism that allowed the conditions at Geer to develop. However, we can make a better effort in remembering those that are buried at Geer, and giving them back some of the humanity that was stolen from them” (Duke Chronicle).
* Please view here or visit the link below to watch the full video of the online event. The password to access the video is "dignity."
International Comparative Studies