Speakers for the Dead

I’m still alive, and the blog hasn’t been abandoned completely. 

Here’s a film to tide you over until the promised updates are ready.  Produced in Canada in 2000, it deals with the issues raised by the restoration of a Black cemetery. 

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So you want to be a researcher?

I stumbled across a site that’s not only a great reference for those new to research, it also tells the story of an 18th century herbalist/mid-wife.  The site is DoHistory.Org and it’s definitely worth a look.  A collaborative project by The Film Study Center at Harvard University and hosted by George Mason University, the History Toolkit on the site is chock-full of helpful information for researchers including information on how to search deeds and how to read a cemetery. 

In other news, more updates are coming soon, including the oft delayed photography tips! 

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Time Team America in New Philadelphia

The most recent episode of Time Team America, an episode on New Philadelphia in Illinois, includes a short (roughly 2 minutes) view of the historic cemetery associated with the town, and a short discussion of the cemetery. The town was the first planned and established by a free African American in the United States. The property was purchased and the town laid-out by "Free Frank" McWorter. He was able to purchase the freedom of his wife, himself, and some of his children from a slave owner in Kentucky, then moved north to start a new life. It's a great episode, the history is compelling and it's a great view into what archaeology is really like. PBS is launching a new online portal where you can view full episodes of some of their shows, including Time Team America, check it out here.

Check out the links above - the Time Team site has a more in depth history of the site and Free Frank. The cemetery was particularly fascinating, although the show didn't spend a lot of time on it. It was African American only and set slightly away from the town. They make a quick reference to how African American funeral rituals were culturally distinct and important, and touch on a few theories regarding cemeteries (particularly the association with flowing water). If you'd like to know more, here's a couple of books:

Passed on: African American Mourning Stories - includes a lot of 20th century material, but also includes discussions of earlier traditions. Thought provoking - I'd never really considered the effect segregation and racism had on burials, funeral customs, and the funeral industry as a whole in both the North and South.

The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts - includes a short chapter on Vernacular or Folk grave markers, a great resource. Worth the price if you're interested in the field, but you might want to check it out in the library first. Vlach has produced several books on the subject, I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them as he seems a very solid scholar. Sphere: Related Content

Update on Mound in Oxford, Alabama

This morning I received an email from Dan Whisenhunt, a reporter with the Anniston Star letting me know that they broke the original story. I'd linked to the Birmingham News in my recent posts, but it appears they picked the story up off the AP wire from the Star. Usually when I'm not close enough to visit a site in person I attempt to find the newspaper for the town where the event happens or the closest large city - this technique let me down this time.

The Anniston Star has excellent coverage of this issue - they've been covering it extensively and doing what a news agency is supposed to do - finding out the facts concerned. So far they've uncovered the University of Alabama report on the site and associated letters, an article noting that supposedly the construction crews have orders to avoid the mound, an article on how taxpayer money was used for the destruction, and several others. Check out the links and site for more information. I apologize for missing the Anniston Star in the original round of posts, they have the most complete coverage of this story and I commend Dan Whisenhunt and the Anniston Star for the thoroughness of their research! Sphere: Related Content

More from Oxford, Alabama

Oxford is a small town outside of Birmingham that is currently ripping down an ancient mound for cheap fill-dirt for a Sam's Club. The Birmingham news has reported on this issue, but apparently the city is now barring reporters from visiting the site according to rumors (guess that whole "First Amendment" thing was covered while the mayor et al were napping in high school). I stumbled across a blog post with a little more information. Apparently the city is claiming that the mound was "only used to send smoke signals". I'm honestly not sure what to say to that statement other than it's obvious they haven't had a survey of any sort done by a qualified individual. There is supposedly a mysterious survey done by "somebody at the University of Alabama" years ago, but a copy has yet to be produced. The story has made it to the iReporter site run by CNN

The greatest tragedy here is that there is no reason at all to destroy the mound. It is not in the way of construction - the city is just using it as a handy source of fill dirt, and hey if they happen to destory an irreplaceable part of local history too bad! In other areas of Alabama mounds such as this have been developed into parks and tourist sites - sure it' won't draw in millions of people a year, but it would draw a lot more people than the "spot where the mound used to be" will. That's what bothers me the most, this destruction is purposeless. It's akin to burning down a library just because it's there - it serves no good purpose and you lose so much. I actually travel through Oxford a few times each year when I visit my parents, by the time I travel through next the mound will most likely be gone.

Edit: This story was originally covered by the Anniston Star, see this post for more information. Sphere: Related Content