Nashville City Cemetery Association

06/11/2026

Join us for a powerful moment in our community’s history! We’re dedicating a new memorial to honor the enslaved people buried in City Cemetery.

Hear from 2026 Youth Poet Laureate Marcus Robison, Fisk Jubilee alum Jordan Holland, Pastor Enoch Fuzz, master storyteller Betsy Philps, renowned historian and Chair of the Metro Historic Commission Linda Wynn, and Davidson County Historian Dr. Lea Williams.

Don’t miss this special event—click the Eventbrite link to learn more and RSVP!

Dedication ceremony for the Nashville City Cemetery's Memorial that honors approximately 3,000 enslaved in buried there.

06/11/2026

Our very own board member Jacobia Dowell being interviewed for the six o'clock news!!

06/11/2026

Check out this News Channel 2 story about the cemetery's new memorial site! Thank you, Kenley Hargett, for covering this story!!

For decades, thousands of enslaved men, women, and children buried at Nashville City Cemetery have laid in unmarked graves.

06/11/2026

06/10/2026

On Saturday, the Friends of William Edmondson Homesite hosted a powerful memorial rock decorating event, helping us complete the list of nearly 1,700 enslaved people buried in City Cemetery between 1846 and 1865—a huge achievement!

This video features the stone of 15-year-old Sarah, who died in 1849. Her stone was one of the last decorated, and will be displayed alongside about 1,700 others at the Enslaved Persons Memorial dedication in Nashville City Cemetery this Saturday, June 13 at 10am.

Join us in honoring their memory.

06/10/2026

What an incredible Saturday at the William Edmondson Homesite! We decorated 157 stones together, completing our project to honor the names of enslaved men, women, and children interred at City Cemetery from 1846–1865.

Each stone represents a life remembered from the interment books. Thank you to everyone who came out and made this day so meaningful!

06/09/2026

Hey Nashville! Please join us on Saturday. Pastor Enoch Fuzz, Fisk Jubilee alumna Jordan Holland, Marcus Robinson, the 2026 Youth Poet Laureate, and Metro Commissioner Betsy Phillips are all part of the program, along with Davidson County Historian Dr. Lea Williams and Linda Winn, chair of the Metro Nashville Historical Commission
Its going to be an awesome program.
We hope to see you there!!!!

Dedication ceremony for the Nashville City Cemetery's Memorial that honors approximately 3,000 enslaved in buried there.

06/08/2026

📸 Our new memorial bench, honoring the enslaved people buried in the cemetery, will be installed this week!

Check out these photos to see how we got here.

The final steps leading to installation began last month, when the Vanderbilt Institute of Spatial Research team used ground-penetrating radar to ensure the bench would not disturb, any unmarked graves at the site.

Next, Cemetery Site Manager Bryan Gilley announced to the Tennessean newspaper the proposed location for this meaningful tribute.

Last week, the Shultz Monument crew laid the bench’s foundation—bringing us to the final phase: installation!

We can’t wait to see this tribute come to life.

✨ Join us for the dedication ceremony this Saturday! RSVP on Eventbrite for details and a moving commemoration celebrating remembrance and resilience. Be part of this important moment in our community’s story.

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📸 Our new memorial bench, honoring the enslaved people buried in the cemetery, will be installed this week!

Check out these photos to see how we got here.

The final steps leading to installation began last month, when the Vanderbilt Institute of Spatial Research team used ground-penetrating radar to ensure the bench would not disturb, any unmarked graves at the site.

Next, Cemetery Site Manager Bryan Gilley announced, to a Tennessean newspaper reporter, the proposed location for the memorial bench.

Last week, the Shultz Monument crew laid the bench’s foundation, bringing us to the final phase: installation!

We can’t wait to see it standing in tje cemetety!

✨ Join us for the dedication ceremony this Saturday! RSVP on Eventbrite for details: https://NCCAdedication.eventbrite.com

06/07/2026

With the June 13 memorial site dedication just around the corner, decorated rocks are pouring in! This table showcases just a few of the 200 stones, each carefully painted with the name, age, and date of interment of someone we’ll be honoring at the ceremony. Every rock in this photo was decorated by one talented Ravenwood High School senior—thank you for your incredible contribution!

To sponsor a memorial rock, donate 5 dollars here: https://givebutter.com/memorial-bench-fundraiser-xyqobg

06/07/2026

Who knew the Memorial Rock Project had friends in Eugene, Oregon? 🎨✨ These Eugene Oregon artists shared how moved they were to be part of such an inspiring and meaningful participatory art project. Huge thanks to them for decorating these beautiful stones—and for shipping them overnight so they’d arrive in time for our June 13 memorial site dedication!

Sign up to join us at the dedication here: https://NCCAdedication.eventbrite.com