Archaeologists validate deacon s claims that county paved over Black cemetery
Archaeologists validate deacon s claims that DeKalb County paved over Black cemetery.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The Kinnemore family of DeKalb County cherishes their gravesite that sits off Wilson Road not far from Lawrenceville Highway. It sits above a far more expansive piece of property now identified by archaeologists as an African-American cemetery paved over by the county and private developers in the late-1960s. I think it was intentional, said Deacon Fred Kinnemore, who believes county officials and developers flagrantly disrespected members of the predominantly Black St. Paul Baptist Church, whose ancestors were buried on the property.
By Cherranda Smith
Feb 23, 2021
A three-year investigation by WSB-TV has led to the discovery of more than two dozen graves from a Black cemetery in DeKalb County, Georgia.
Fred Kinnemore, a deacon of the St. Paul Baptist Church, said no one believed him when reached out to the news outlet in 2018. Now the 50-year deacon has the proof.
“Just knowing that they’ve covered it up, for all this time,” Kinnemore said. “Once the deceased has been disturbed, you can’t bring it back.”
St. Paul Baptist Church was one of the first to be built along Wilson Road, which used to be a dirt road for horses and buggies to pass through. Shortly after, white people came to the area and reportedly didn’t like having a Black church in their neighborhood.