9 a.m. OFF-SITE St. James Cemetery Workday

Join members of the Racial Justice Team in cleaning up and removing invasive plants from St. James Cemetery Saturday, July 12, 9 to 11 AM..

Located at 125 Roberts Road, the St. James Baptist Church Cemetery, constructed during the 19th century, is an African American cemetery that includes the remains of people born into slavery, of sharecroppers marked with hand-carved stones, of prosperous families marked with granite monuments, of veterans of American wars, and others whose names and memorials have been lost to time.

This cemetery is overgrown, undermarked, and in need of care to endure the proper respect for those interred within. Since being recognized on the Athens Places in Peril list, St. James Cemetery has received an increase in attention and local grassroots efforts, including two site-planning projects funded by the Watson Brown foundation, a submitted nomination to ACC-UG for local landmark designation, and – thanks to the efforts of Rep. Spencer Frye and Habitat for Humanity – new and improved signage that helps prevent one of the most consistent forms of damage on the site: passersby mistaking the site as an abandoned lot appropriate for waste disposal.

Additional work must be done for site security and preservation, but St. James Cemetery is actively progressing as a community-led preservation project.

https://www.historicathens.com/placesinperil