South-View Cemetery is a historic African-American-founded cemetery located approximately 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta, Georgia. An active operational cemetery on over 100 acres of land, it is the oldest African-American cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia and the oldest African-American “non eleemosynary” corporation in the country.[3] Founded in 1886, it has since served as the burial place for many leaders in the civil rights movement including Julian Bond and John Lewis. Martin Luther King Jr. was originally buried here but was later moved to the King National Historic Park in Atlanta.

South-View Cemetery
Map
Details
EstablishedApril 21, 1886
Location
1990 Jonesboro Rd SE, Atlanta, Georgia
CountryUnited States
Coordinates33°42′08″N 84°22′25″W / 33.702361°N 84.373686°W / 33.702361; -84.373686
TypePrivate
Size100 acres (40 ha)[1]
No. of interments80,000[2]
Websitehttps://www.southviewcemetery.com/
Find a GraveSouth-View Cemetery

History

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Founded February 1886, the cemetery was an effort of nine African-American businessmen including Jacob McKinley, George W. Graham, Robert Grant, Charles H. Morgan, John Render and Albert Watts, all who wanted a safe, secure place where their family members could be buried with dignity in the midst of backlash to Reconstruction.[4]. The State of Georgia approved its charter in April 1886.[3]

Albert H. Watts, grandson of co-founder Albert Watts, served as Southview Cemetery's President-Treasurer from 1977 until his death in 2001. Current President, Winifred Hemphill, several stockholders, Board members and members of the staff are descendants of the founders.[3]

The cemetery has both perpetual care and non-perpetual care areas. All new lots are sold with perpetual care, but many historic family plots were not.[5] As a result, some portions of the cemetery have "suffered from neglect".[6] A non-profit foundation was created in 2004 to raise money, conduct preservation projects and provide care for historic parts of the cemetery.[5]

A cell phone tour of the cemetery was created in a collaborative effort with Oakland Cemetery to provide biographical details about African Americans interred at the two cemeteries. Visitors can obtain a site map at the visitors center, and each of the 14 stops on the tour is marked with a granite marker. The visitor can call a phone number and dial each stop number as they arrive at it, to hear information.[5]

The cemetery celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2011, and at that time Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed gave it the city's Phoenix Award for its contributions to the city.[5] For many years South-View was paid by the city of Atlanta to provide spaces for African-Americans buried at city expense.[7]

Two printed guidebooks to the cemetery have been published.[8][9]

Notable interments

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Twenty-two people are buried in the cemetery that have or have had schools in the Atlanta Public Schools named for them.[10] With the exception of Martin Luther King Jr., who is buried at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, all the deceased pastors of Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church are buried here as of 2016.[10]

Veterans who served in every war since World War I are buried in the cemetery, including two members of the Tuskegee Airmen. An annual ceremony as part of Wreaths Across America has been held in December starting in 2010.[11]

Notable people buried here include:

 
 

Former interments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Solomon, Adina (August 9, 2018). "At South-View Cemetery, Winifred Watts Hemphill is keeper of black Atlanta's departed history". Atlanta Magazine. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Martin, Anya (September 18, 2017). "Tales from the crypt: Untold stories from Atlanta's oldest cemeteries". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Southview Cemetery: Our History". Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Toone, Stephanie (July 29, 2020). "What to know about the place where John Lewis will be buried". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, LaVonne (December 2011). "Atlanta's South-View Cemetery Implements "African American Voices" Tours" (PDF). Reflections (Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network). X (2). Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division: 5–7. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Henry, Scott (February 16, 2010). "Cover Story: Atlanta's forgotten black history". Creative Loafing. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Henderson 2018, p. 5.
  8. ^ Bayne 2016.
  9. ^ Henderson 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Primus, Kiplyn (April 13, 2016). "Historic South-View Cemetery Preservation Foundation On The Local Take". WCLK. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c Coleman, Master Sgt. Stan (December 16, 2010). "Dobbins Airmen participate in Wreaths Across America Ceremony". Dobbins Air Reserve Base. United States Air Force. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Memorial, funeral services for Hank Aaron announced". FOX5 Atlanta. January 25, 2021. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Mrs. Ludie Andrews Dies; Nursing Pioneer". The Atlanta Constitution. January 10, 1969. p. 27. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Henderson 2018, pp. 171–172.
  15. ^ a b c d Bayne 2016, p. 13.
  16. ^ Hite 2016, pp. 276, 280.
  17. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 173.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Henderson 2018, p. 6.
  19. ^ "Jesse Blayton Rites Saturday". Atlanta Constitution. September 16, 1977. p. 18–A. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b Henderson 2018, p. 177.
  21. ^ a b c d e Cox, Jamie (April 14, 2011). "Our First Year: South-View Cemetery 125 Years". Patch.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  22. ^ a b Henderson 2018, p. 179.
  23. ^ Cyriaque, Jeanne (April 2006). "He Was A Morehouse Man: The Legacy of Brailsford Reese Brazeal" (PDF). Reflections (Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network). VI (1). Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division: 1–3. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  24. ^ "Archer grad killed in plane disaster is buried". The Atlanta Voice. November 29, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved June 21, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Fisher & Buckley 2016, pp. 60–63.
  26. ^ Bayne 2016, p. 54.
  27. ^ Spencer 1998, p. 13.
  28. ^ a b c Henderson 2018, p. 234.
  29. ^ a b Bayne 2016, p. 12.
  30. ^ "Henderson, Freddye". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 23, 2007. p. D7. Retrieved June 20, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "HerStories: The Women of South-View". Atlanta Preservation Center. March 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  32. ^ Powell, Kay (May 19, 2006). "John J. Hicks Jr., 64, jazz pianist from Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D5. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 215.
  34. ^ "Jones". Atlanta Constitution. December 5, 1984. p. 15 – via newspapers.com.
  35. ^ a b Henderson 2018, p. 220.
  36. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 219.
  37. ^ a b c Henderson 2018, p. 238.
  38. ^ "Dr. Homer Erwin Nash, physician and community volunteer". WXIA-TV. January 30, 2018. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  39. ^ Fisher & Buckley 2016, pp. 163–165.
  40. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 233.
  41. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 239.
  42. ^ Burns, Rebecca (2011). Rage in the Gate City: The Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0820342917. OCLC 759160206.
  43. ^ Spencer 1998, p. 40.
  44. ^ "George A. Towns collection". Archives Research Center. Robert W. Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  45. ^ Boutwell, Ann Taylor (March 10, 2014). "A Look Back: This month in Atlanta history". Atlanta Intown. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  46. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 250.
  47. ^ Henderson 2018, p. 254.
  48. ^ a b Henderson 2018, p. 255.
  49. ^ "King Body Taken to New Site". The Atlanta Constitution. January 14, 1970. p. 7. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com. Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr. and her four children were present during the predawn hours Tuesday as King's body in its crypt was transferred from South View Cemetery to a site near the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
  50. ^ Perry, Harmon (March 23, 1978). "Deceased West Point Grad Honored In Ga. Hometown". Jet. Vol. 54, no. 1. p. 22. Retrieved September 3, 2018. After 38 years of embedment in an unmarked grave on a family plot alongside distant relatives, the remains of the nation's first Black graduate of the U.S. Army Academy (West Point) were unearthed from the Southview Cemetery in Atlanta and driven 240 miles for....the reburial ceremonies in Thomasville, Feb. 11, 1978
  51. ^ Hagans, Gail; Manuel, Marlon (May 22, 1995). "At two resilient schools, it's time to celebrate". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B4. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com. ...the remains of Morehouse luminary Benjamin E. Mays and his wife, Sadie, were moved from Southview Cemetery late Saturday and placed in a marble memorial on the school campus Sunday.

Sources and further reading

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