Thank you for taking the time to visit our redesigned WebAtlas 1.1. This WebAtlas reflects hours of archival search, meetings with communities, and detective work on the ground, and we have barely scratched the surface.
Before we can preserve African American gravesites in Mississippi, we must first locate them. African American cemeteries were often excluded from previous documentary programs, particularly those developed in commemoration of the United States of America’s Bicentennial. These projects were often implemented by organizations whose priorities were on existing, recorded cemeteries, not locating those “lost” in the landscape.
Once the burial sites are located, only then can meaningful preservation activities commence. Mapping these burial sites enables communities to apply for National Register inclusion. The WebAtlas becomes a useful tool for both education and archiving, storing documentation relating to burial sites and making it accessible to all of you. We hope to offer a means of connecting the present with the past to build a better future.
To learn more about our initial pilot project, please visit our website HERE
