Historical society guest speaker emphasizes the importance of preserving past - Valley Times-News valleytimes-news.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from valleytimes-news.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Black leaders rally to preserve cemetery next to skate park arkansasonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from arkansasonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By SUDHIN THANAWALA Created: July 26, 2021 04:14 PM
NEWNAN, Ga. (AP) - Black community leaders are calling on officials in a city south of Atlanta to preserve a cemetery for African Americans that they say has long been neglected and is under threat from a city skate park.
Crews building the adjacent park in Newnan have dumped debris on the burial site, desecrating an important legacy of the city s Black residents, community leaders say. The site is believed to contain the remains of slaves, and locals worry additional construction around the site may follow. This is our history. This is our heritage, and we have to preserve it, Render Godfrey, a Black pastor who lives in Newnan, said Monday. There are citizens like me that still live here that care about this cemetery because my heritage is laying in one of these graves.