A quick rundown of high- and lowlights of the nearly eight months since the City released the devastating ground-penetrating radar report identifying at least 4,224 graves in Vick Cemetery:
- at my request, Mayor Carlton Stevens arranged an open forum on May 11 at Reid Street Community Center in which I presented the history of Vick Cemetery and discussed the report’s findings. The mayor and council members Gillettia Morgan and Derrick Creech attended and heard members of the public call for transparency, accountability, and action at Vick.
- in late May, Council voted to run a fence around Vick and brought New South Associates (NSA) back to the cemetery in late June to mark graves that straddled its borders.
- in July, City Manager Grant Goings announced that he would make recommendations for Vick at an August council meeting and provided a preview of his suggestions.
- on August 5, local clergy and Lane Street Project held a reconsecration ceremony at Vick Cemetery.
- on August 11, I emailed the four council members who attended the reconsecration ceremony and asked them to move for:(1) formal engagement by the City with Lane Street Project and other representatives of the Vick Cemetery descendant community;(2) an independent investigation into the removal and disposal of Vick Cemetery’s headstones circa 1995;(3) preparation of a full survey map of Vick Cemetery, to include all built features; and(4) a ground-penetrating radar survey of the areas not surveyed in 2022, including, but not limited to, the public right-of-way between the power poles and the street. (None of the four council members have acknowledged receipt, but they generally don’t, so I’m going to assume they got my missive.) I also encouraged council members to hold off on making decisions about Vick’s future without additional information about the history and current condition of the site and without the input of stakeholders whose family members are buried there. None of these actions was taken.
- in August, NSA presented its final report on Vick Cemetery at council meeting. Goings did not present recommendations.
- on August 17, WRAL-TV ran its report on Vick Cemetery.
- in late August/early September, evidence falls together that establishes that the power poles were placed in Vick and Rountree in 1997 — after the cemetery was cleared.
- At September council meeting, Lane Street Project representatives presented to council a written statement of concerns and requests concerning Vick.
- in late September, the North Carolina General Assembly approved $50,000 for Vick Cemetery (after a brief “miscommunication.”)
- in late September, I attended a meeting the Mayor requested with him, Councilmember Morgan, and two others to discuss next steps for Vick. Despite my generally hopeful takeaway, I have heard nothing further from the Mayor.
- in October, Vick Cemetery became a pressing issue for candidates for city council races. In defending their records, Morgan, Michael Bell, and James Johnson provided insight into their essential positions. For Morgan, it’s basically “Can’t we all get along?”; for Bell — and I quote — it’s “Let the dead rest”; for Johnson, it’s “Y’all just don’t understand 25 year-old me — and what do y’all want, anyway?”
- Vick Cemetery was not on the agenda for October or November council meetings.
So. Here we are on December 4, and council has failed to engage the descendant community concerning Vick; failed to respond to or implement any provisions of Lane Street Project’s September petition (as far as I know); and failed to publicly state how it will spend the $50,000 received for Vick. In fact, the City has failed to articulate any goals whatsoever for investigating the missing headstones; remedying the power pole intrusion; protecting the bodies in the public right-of-way; or otherwise moving into the future with openness and honesty concerning this abused space.
What is the plan?
Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2023.