On March 10, 2022, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and Ennis Davis of The Jaxson present Two Centuries of Jacksonville: Abandoned African American Cemeteries.

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In Jacksonville, Florida’s oldest major city, the remains of those once enslaved and those who helped rebuild the city following the Great Fire of 1901 lie in abandoned places, under segregation-era parks, industrial sites and housing developments. Explore the legacy of those sacred spaces and their impact on our city and our neighbors today.

This Myrtle Avenue warehouse complex was developed over the former Bethel Baptist Institutional Church Cemetery during the mid-20th century.

Hear from Ennis Davis of The Jaxson Magazine about the many African American cemeteries in and around Jacksonville and our historical figures buried there, including prominent women of our city. Ennis will be joined in conversation by Adrienne Burke, Miami-Dade Principal Planner and former director of Riverside Avondale Preservation, former Nassau County Planning Director, former Fernandina Beach community development director, Florida Public Archaeology Network board member and an expert in African American history and cemeteries. Adrienne will explore the use of African American cemeteries as important cultural landscapes and what protection strategies can look like. Sarah Miller, Director of Florida Public Archaeology Network’s (FPAN) Northeast Florida Region, will share the work that FPAN is doing with local cemeteries.

This conversation is a production of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and The Jaxson Magazine. Launched by Modern Cities in association with WJCT Public Broadcasting, The Jaxson is a multimedia project dedicated to urbanism and culture on Florida’s First Coast.

A destroyed Memorial Cemetery burial site due to speeding cars on Moncrief Road. Moncrief Road was widened into a wide, five lane road through the Moncrief Road Cemeteries District during the mid-20th century.

HOST

Jessie Ball duPont Fund

PANELISTS

Featuring Ennis Davis of The Jaxson Magazine; Adrienne Burke, AICP, Esq., Miami Dade Principal Planner; and Sarah Miller, Director of Florida Public Archaeology Network’s Northeast Florida Region

Time

March 10, 2022 12:00 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

A headstone in the middle of a street and sidewalk at the former Mt. Herman Cemetery in Durkeeville.

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