WASHINGTON, DCToday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) praised the African American Cemeteries Coalition during remarks he made at the group’s Black History Month Celebration, and discussed the introduction of his African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act. The newly-introduced bipartisan bill is also sponsored by Mitt Romney (R-UT).
 
Brown first introduced similar legislation in 2019 after he visited Union Baptist Cemetery in Cincinnati following news reports of vandalism at the cemetery and the cemetery’s call for much-needed repairs. Union Baptist Cemetery was founded in 1864 and includes the remains of enslaved African Americans, African American Union soldiers and civil rights activists.
 
“As a nation, we have not invested the necessary resources to preserve these hallowed grounds. That’s why we’ve worked with the community, and with civil rights, veterans, and historic preservation groups to introduce bipartisan legislation to preserve historic Black burial grounds around the country,” said Brown. “Cemeteries like Union Baptist are important historical sites, and they’re tools for education and understanding the American story. We need to act now before these sites are lost to the ravages of time or development.”
 
The African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, would establish a program at the National Park Service to provide grant opportunities and technical assistance to local partners to research, identify, survey and preserve these cemeteries. Providing federal resources will ensure sites like Union Baptist are preserved and maintained for future generations.
 
Today’s Black History Program was sponsored by the African American Cemetery Coalition, a group made up of African Graves Matter, Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition and the Hamilton Hood. The program commemorated Black stories of legacy, historical journeys, notable achievements and the sacred spaces that have shaped the country. It aimed to expand advocacy throughout the United States for the protection and preservation of threatened African burial sites and to celebrate the history of a people plagued by injustice and erasure. 
 
“The African American Cemetery Coalition, a grassroots group of African American cemetery preservation and protector groups, affirm support of the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act,” the African American Cemetery Coalition said. “The documentation of historical African American burials grounds is critical to their survival along with potential financial support that has been too long denied them. “
 
“This bill is significant for the community of Bethesda, Maryland. Our ancient cemetery is being desecrated because of a lack of federal attention to this issue,” the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition wrote. “The African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act will provide much needed protections for the community fighting large corporations and historic injustice.”
 
“We stand in support of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for his courage and tenacity to embrace and bring awareness to the struggle of people of African descent. His empathy and compassion show that he respects our ancestors' contribution to America's landscape; and that he recognizes our right to share our history and culture with the world,” African Graves Matter said. “The stance that he has taken to preserve African American Burial Grounds, only strengthens our fight locally, nationwide and in our immediate communities. May his courage serve as an example for local and national leaders to ease the pains of injustices.”
 
“African American Burial Grounds are landscapes of celebration and places of memory.
The newly introduced African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act is paramount to redress the inequities and long-standing risks of these sacred spaces,” said the Hamilton Hood Foundation. “This proposed bill will create a formal foundation to preserve and interpret these pivotal spaces in our nation's history. The Hamilton Hood Foundation stands in support of African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act. 
 
The legislation is also supported by historic preservation groups in Ohio and across the country. 
 

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