Munch and Learn | Restoration and Preservation of a Historic Black Cemetery

Restoration and Preservation of a Historic Black Cemetery

Samuel Oldham, Board Member, Mt Carmel Ally

 Mount Carmel Cemetery, a historical African American cemetery, is located at the northwest corner of Elvis Presley Blvd. and Elliston Rd. Address: 2093 Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, 38106. The cemetery was established during the “American Rural Cemetery Movement,” where the attitude of burials changed from dreary to landscaped park settings with rolling hills, trees, and elaborate monuments. These cemeteries are considered the onset of the “American Park System.”  

Over the past one hundred years, the cemetery expanded to over ten acres, which represents greater than 3.400 burials. 2,297 matching records have been found. The cemetery exists in a depressed socioeconomic African American community. Over the years, the cemetery was neglected, records were lost due to fire, and then abandoned. Mount Carmel Cemetery is located in a MLK Corrida, in proximity to four other cemeteries, a Historical Black College University, and Stax Museum.

One of the notable Memphians buried at the formerly abandoned cemetery is Tom Lee. MT CARMEL ALLY HISTORY

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MUNCH AND LEARN IS ENDOWED BY THE LANDAU FAMILY IN MEMORY OF LESLIE MANN LANDAU

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