Current Condition
Cemeteries are the last physical manifestation of the segregation era in the United States. All other examples have been eradicated. The "colors only" and "whites only" signs have been taken down, the separate entrances have been boarded up, and historically white cemeteries have become integrated. The black cemeteries are the last dilapidated relic of segregation. They are only recently being renovated and renewed, but in the past were dumping grounds for citizens viewed as "lesser" than white citizens.
The most disheartening view of the Jermantown Cemetery is the trash that litters the perimeter. On a short path leading to a residential area through the overgrown bushes, hundreds of beer cans, cigarette butts, and fast food trash coats the ground. It has obviously been there for some time.
Nearly illegible, this headstone is for Everline Gibson and says she was born July 12 1876. There is no visible death date. The headstone is laying flat in the dirt, cut in half with a clean break.
It is unknown who this gravestone belongs to. There is no text on the other side, which means that it has completely washed away.
These headstones belong to Franklin H. Harrod and Martha G. Groomes. There are other closeups of their legible headstones, but for this purpose, it is better to see where they are in relation to the rest of the cemetery. The ivy and tree undergrowth has completely taken over their burial plots. They both died post-1950, so were probably added to this area in the back due to no more space in the rest of the cemetery.