Saving Washington Park

08/16/2024

Register for the "𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬" (St. Louis, MO) program hosted by the Washington, DC National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) here!

Thursday, September 12 at 7pm
Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, Rosebud Café,
2658 Delmar Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63103

09/05/2023

📰 Washington Park Cemetery [1993]
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Sat, May 15, 1993
Page 4

08/23/2023

08/22/2023

08/22/2023

Burials are actively being dug up in broad daylight on a busy street due to the lack of oversight and accountability of these sacred grounds. Descendants are now taking matters into their own hands. This man says he is tired of the situation and has lived with it on his heart for far too long. He drove all the way from Texas and dug 6 feet down against his family's wishes to find his grandmother's remains were not there.

This is trauma. This is also against the law. The men were arrested and the grounds and this open grave are now heavily exposed and a safety hazard.

Washington Park still in need of immediate protection from the ongoing unprofessional and damaging maintenance and vandalism. Please call Berkeley and St. Louis County to see why they continue to allow the desecration of this heritage site for over 50 years.

St. Louis County Berkeley, Saint Louis, Missouri Berkeley City Hall NAACP Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis County Executive Sam Page Historical Society of Missouri Washington Park Cemetery Anti-Desecration League

🔇 Muted for privacy

08/22/2023

Burials are actively being dug up in broad daylight on a busy street due to the lack of oversight and accountability of these sacred grounds. Descendants are now taking matters into their own hands.

This man says he is tired of the situation and has lived with it on his heart for far too long. He drove all the way from Texas and dug 6 feet down against his family's wishes to find his grandmother's remains were not there.

This is ongoing trauma. This is also against the law. The men were arrested and the grounds and this open grave are now heavily exposed and a safety hazard.

Washington Park is still in need of immediate protection from the ongoing unprofessional and damaging lack of maintenance and vandalism. Please call Berkeley and St. Louis County to see why they continue to allow the desecration of this heritage site for over 50 years.

🔇 Video muted for privacy

08/22/2023

Burials are actively being dug up in broad daylight on a busy street due to the lack of oversight and accountability of these sacred grounds. Descendants are now taking matters into their own hands.

This man says he is tired of the situation and has lived with it on his heart for far too long. He drove all the way from Texas and dug 6 feet down against his family's wishes to find his grandmother's remains (from 1964) were not there. This is trauma. This is also against the law. The men were arrested and the grounds and this open grave are now heavily exposed and a safety hazard.

Washington Park is still in need of immediate protection from the ongoing unprofessional and damaging lack of maintenance and vandalism. Please call Berkeley and St. Louis County to see why they continue to allow the desecration of this heritage site for over 50 years.

St. Louis County Berkeley, Saint Louis, Missouri Berkeley City Hall NAACP Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis County Executive Sam Page Historical Society of Missouri Washington Park Cemetery Anti-Desecration League

07/31/2023

Digging for Truth at Washington Park Cemetery 💗

PRESENTED BY WELLS FARGO
SERIES: African American History Programs | View All Series Dates; Daytime Programs At The Museum | View All Series Dates
LOCATION: Lee Auditorium | Museum

DATE: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
TIME: 11:00am

Join historians and educators Dr. John A. Wright Sr. and Dr. John A. Wright Jr., MHS Associate Archivist Dennis Northcott, and Aja Corrigan of the St. Louis Preservation Crew for an engaging deep dive about Washington Park Cemetery in St. Louis County.

With its 42,000 burials, Washington Park Cemetery holds the truth of the narrative of Black history in the St. Louis region. Speakers will share the history of Washington Park Cemetery, resources for genealogy research using cemetery records, historic preservation efforts, and best practices for cemetery maintenance.

Immediately following the program, join Washington Park Cemetery descendants and members of the St. Louis African American History & Genealogy Association for networking.

African American History Initiative (AAHI) programming is presented by Wells Fargo. Help keep programs like these free by donating to AAHI!

ASL interpretation is available for programs with two weeks' advance notice. Please email [email protected] to request ASL interpretation or with other accessibility questions.

Join Aja Corrigan of the St. Louis Preservation Crew and Saving Washington Park for a deep dive into the challenges and joys of historic preservation work with Black cemeteries in St. Louis.

04/28/2023

🎓 We are very proud of our favorite Washington University in St. Louis graduate, Nkemjika Abad Emenike, who has worked so hard (all while studying pre-law and Chinese!) to restore and advocate for Washington Park Cemetery and all of our endangered heritage sites! She has learned and led so much that will prepare her for her next chapter and career in Chicago. But first, Nkemjika will pass the torch and transfer knowledge to another proactive scholar who will continue the mission. However, she has made a vow to always "go back and get it" and support WPC efforts in any way she can.

Throughout her undergraduate experience, Nkemjika Emenike has dedicated herself to serving and truly understanding both the WashU and St. Louis community.

As a Student Union Senator, Nkemjika took on the roles of Chief of Staff, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair, and Speaker. She advocated empathetically for better mental health resources, racial justice, and socioeconomic equity for undergraduate students, while fostering a collaborative work environment that allowed others to reach their leadership potential. She centers the experiences of others—in consultation with her own—to make the best decisions for the student body.

Her nominator, Otto Brown, indicates, “In an environment where student politics can be overwhelming at times, Nkemjika has always stayed above the fray and stayed focused on bringing about meaningful change for her constituents.”

Nkemjika understands the importance of communities and looking at the past to better inform the future. She has continually examined the untold stories of St. Louis, from her research on William Greenleaf Eliot and the complexities of his contributions to St. Louis, to her work with Washington Park Cemetery.

A historically Black cemetery in North St. Louis County, Washington Park is the resting place for over 42,000 people, but it has been in disrepair for many years. Nkemjika organized workdays with groups of students to lift sunken headstones out of the ground and geo-tag each stone so relatives could more easily locate their loved ones. During the workdays, she ensured that students understood why they were doing this work, elevating the voices of community members.

In 2021, Nkemjika was interviewed on St. Louis Public Radio for her research on the history of Washington University. “I think a big thing for me is just understanding that history and people, they’re not one dimensional,” she said.

“And we know that when we think about things in the present day…when we think about people in history… we don’t think about all the nuances and all the different experiences that they have, that are making up the decisions that they make.”

Nkemjika’s commitment to contextualizing community work and community history, particularly the stories which are often forgotten, makes her contributions to the St. Louis community all the more meaningful.

04/12/2023

It has been such a pleasure working with these wonderful University of Missouri-St. Louis scholars and their professor, Robert Wilson. The students are working on an oral history project that they will present to the Berkeley Council next Monday, April 17th.

Skylar Baxter, who spent time with Elders Walter & David Rice, asked the one thing we hoped UMSL would learn from their work at WPC. We reminded them that they are the future of St. Louis, the healers of community trauma, the solutions to our problems, the transferrers of this knowledge and the lineage re-connectors.

They are doing well so far!

04/09/2023

Before & After 😍 (in comments)
*Section 12*

🌷🐇Happy Spring/Easter from Washington Park Ancestry! As the grass begins to grow and storms continue to cause chaos in overgrown sections, it is the perfect time to come check on your loved ones and make sure their headstone is protected from vandals and inexperienced mowers.

It's also a great time to volunteer hauling brush that has been cut down throughout the winter. The descendant led volunteers in this section are trying to do this work the right way, without dangerous, disrespectful fires and equipment. And by transferring these skills/knowledge and living wage opportunities to those in the community who are there for the right reasons. 💗 To learn from this ancestry.

If you have time and a truck, please reach out. We can connect you with the Elders and volunteers that can help load it up! 💪🏾 Teamwork makes the dream work!

But also... a PLAN... Accountability... Honor, Respect... Competence, Stable Ownership, Advocacy....Youth Education, Black Business, etc....💯

04/09/2023

🌷🐇 Happy Spring/Easter from Washington Park Ancestry! As the grass begins to grow and storms continue to cause chaos in overgrown sections, it is the perfect time to come check on your loved ones and make sure their headstone is protected from vandals and inexperienced mowers.

It's also a great time to volunteer hauling brush that has been cut down throughout the winter. The descendant led volunteers in this section are trying to do this work the right way, without dangerous, disrespectful fires and equipment. And by transferring these skills/knowledge and living wage opportunities to those in the community who are there for the right reasons. 💗 To continue learning from this ancestry.

If you have time and a truck, please reach out. We can connect you with the Elders and volunteers that can help load it up! 💪🏾 Teamwork makes the dream work!

But also... a PLAN... Accountability... Honor, Respect... Competence, Stable Ownership, Advocacy...Youth Education, Black Business, etc....💯

*Section 6/6A in video*