Oakland Cemetery’s Seventeenth Anniversary Honors Atlanta’s Black Pioneers

Actors positioned around the cemetery told the story of the Powells alongside other historical icons like Walter Henry “Chief” Aiken – an infamous football coach at Atlanta University and Clark College – and Dr. Thomas Slater – one of the first African Americans to obtain a pharmacy license in Georgia.

“The theme of the tour and the theme of Juneteenth is ‘determined to rise,'” said Jihan Hurse, the volunteer tour guide who led visitors around the park during the festival. “There are stories here today that we want to highlight that show the determination of African Americans in Atlanta.”

“Atlanta has its own theme of the rise of the Phoenix: African Americans have done the same thing,” she said.

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

Some 12,000 African Americans are buried on 3.5 acres of the 48-acre cemetery located on the outskirts of downtown, minutes from the Georgia State Capitol. When the cemetery was founded in 1850, Hurse said, there were only about 18 free people of color in the entire town.

Through events such as the annual Juneteenth festival, cemetery staff aim to both raise awareness of the accomplishments of its black pioneers buried in the cemetery, but also to raise awareness among Atlantans who may not know everything that space has to offer.

“Most people don’t know we have African-American land here,” said Charvis Buckholts, director of education and youth programs in Oakland. “People who played a major role in shaping not only the history of Atlanta, but the history of the United States.”

Despite the scorching heat — with temperatures reaching the mid-90s — hundreds of Atlantans visited the Oakland Cemetery to learn about its history, celebrate with live music and shop from local vendors.

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

Under the shade of white oaks, attendees participated in a special libation ceremony honoring their ancestors, led by the Big Bethel AME Heaven Bound Choir. Later, the voice of singer and songwriter Veronika Jackson, an acoustic folk blues musician, echoed through the winding cobblestone paths lined with ornate headstones.

LaDoris Bias Davis, a Gullah Geechee storyteller for more than three decades, has captivated young audiences with African folk tales like that of Lee Lee Goro, who tells how leopards got their spots, elephants their tusks and even how spiders have acquired eight legs.

In 2022, Oakland Cemetery celebrated the final phase of its extensive project to restore African American cemeteries in the northeast portion of the park. The initiative began after the Historic Oakland Foundation discovered the area contained more than 800 unmarked graves using ground-penetrating radar.

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

The cemetery’s director of horticulture, Abra Lee, said the park’s gardening crews work to honor its Black residents in another way: through its flowers.

“What we’re focusing on now is taking an inventory so we can start installing plants that were significant or important to black communities – found in black yards at that time,” Lee said.

Things like sunflowers and zinnias, she said, have special meaning for black families, especially black women.

“We want to add that bold, vibrant color – the reds and yellows – that really speak to black communities, who live out loud and lead colorful lives,” she said.

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren