December 7, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Nonprofit Organization to Restore Desecrated African Cemetery
National Foundation Seeks to Uncover and Preserve African American History and Its Untold Stories
Every place has a story, and the Hamilton Hood Foundation wants to share the story of the Historic Pierce Chapel African Cemetery. This cemetery built in the 1800s is a vital connection to Georgia’s history and is the resting place of enslaved Africans. For years, the cemetery had been left alone with only an occasional family member visiting a relative. But recently much of the landscape and many of the gravesites of this historic cemetery have been permanently altered. The destruction and desecration come at the hand of a utility company.
With its cultural importance to the African American community and out of preserving American History, the Hamilton Hood Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the documentation and preservation of African American history as it pertains to genealogy and familial connections, has stepped in to preserve the area. The foundation strives to raise awareness surrounding the art and conservation of storytelling specifically within the African American community.
The Hamilton Hood Foundation aims to dignify the cemetery by restoring the sacred site with replacing destroyed headstones, having a burial plot survey done by an archaeological firm, collecting an internment record of those buried in the cemetery, and having it registered as a historic site.
Hamilton Hood wants to declare the Historic Pierce Chapel African Cemetery as a local landmark as well as having documentation on the site. Having the site formally declared as a landmark opens a gateway of communication not only for people that may have family members buried in the cemetery but also for an oppressed community trying to obtain respect and preserve dignity for the deceased. Hamilton Hood Foundation aims to educate the African American community on self-identity, lineage and ancestry which makes them significant contenders in the preservation of this cemetery.
In a world where certain aspects of history are being reckoned with, Hamilton Hood Foundation strives to spark the memory of a side whose history is often overlooked. The only recorded documentation that the Historic Pierce Chapel African Cemetery has is focused on the dimensions and size of the lot as well as an unofficial name. With the lack of information, Hamilton Hood Foundation wants to rebuild, register, and reframe the cemetery focusing on its story that connects who we are and where we come from.
For more information on Hamilton Hood Foundation, preservation projects, community development, and volunteerism opportunities, please visit: hamiltonhood.org
About Hamilton Hood Foundation
Hamilton Hood Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the collection, documentation, and preservation of American History, as it pertains to the untold stories, cultural awareness, and genealogy of African Americans.
