On Feb. 29, a marker that was erected to pay respect to the unmarked graves was uprooted after community backlash over the lack of a proper dedication ceremony.
Mayor Pam Hemminger said the original marker had good intentions, but after seeing a wider community perspective, it was clear the community wanted the town to better recognize the dead.
At 4 p.m., a group of Chapel Hill residents, students, teachers, politicians and local leaders gathered for the unveiling of a grave marker. The Black Student Movement groups, Harmonyx and UNC Gospel Choir sang the Negro National Anthem along with other musical selections.
“This occasion shall echo through the pages of history,” said Stanley Peele, retired district court judge. “We are making something right that has been wrong.”
After the speeches and performances, Reverend Robert Campbell and Tre Shockley, president of the Black Student Movement, unveiled the marker.
The line on the marker reads, “Thus we, like birds, retreat to groves, and hide from ev’ry eye: Our slumb’ring dust will rise and meet its morning in the sky.”
Former Chapel Hill Mayor Howard Lee said this line was important to include on the marking.
“The four most important things on the tombstone are the person’s name, the date they were born, the date they died and the line,” said Lee. “The line is the most important because the line represents their life.”
