Woman recognizes father headstone during clean up of historic Black cemetery

A cemetery in northwest Charlotte where several black veterans rest has been left in disrepair for decades.

Last month, Channel 9′s Madison Carter covered a group of volunteers who were working to restore Cedar Grove Cemetery. A local woman reached out to Carter when she realized she had a special tie to the story.

“My heart stayed in my stomach that whole day when I seen it ... when y’all did that interview. The program and that was the first one I saw, I’m like, ‘That’s my dad,’ Lucille told Channel 9.

Lucille said it has been decades since she had been able to visit her father, World War Two Veteran Adam Davis.

She said the cemetery was too dangerous to visit after being left in disrepair. And with her children being away, she said she had no way of getting back to the cemetery now that it has been cleaned up.

That’s when Carter offered to drive Lucille to visit her father.

On the way to the cemetery, Lucille told Carter that her father was buried at Cedar Grove in the 1960s.

“When he was first buried here, Madison, it was beautiful, beautiful,” Lucille explained. When I start coming over here looking, I’m just like, I cannot believe it. That they let this place go.”

Lucille said she was very emotional as they arrived and expressed her gratitude. She is now focusing on spending more time clearing up her father’s headstone and clearly marking his gravesite.

Those working to restore Cedar Grove are also working to help identify everyone who is buried here.

State Representative Alma Adams recently pushed through legislation for a $3 million grant to help preserve and restore african american burial sites.

Channel 9 has reached out to her office to ask whether they’re working to direct any of those funds to Cedar Grove. We are waiting to hear back.

VIDEO: Efforts underway to clean historic Black cemetery where veterans rest

Efforts underway to clean historic Black cemetery where veterans rest

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