Scientists from Terracon are currently at a historic African American graveyard in Ypsilanti. They are conducting a non-invasive geophysical survey as part of a key step in restoring the site
Documentation identifying who is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery was lost in a fire decades ago.
Debby Covington is president and chair of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County. She says the ongoing survey uses scanning technology to map what lies beneath the cemetery grounds. She adds that rediscovering grave markers and those buried there will offer closure for the deceased’s living family and the local Black community.
“Restoring the headstones, restoring the graves, it’s restoring dignity, and it’s building community and restoring hope!”
Covington says the data gathered from the survey could become one of the most comprehensive examinations of an African American cemetery in Michigan’s history.
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