Historic Black community in N.S. plans restoration of cemetery

Residents of the historic African Nova Scotian community of Beechville are planning work to revitalize the local cemetery after being awarded a grant from the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The $10,000 grant has been awarded to the Beechville United Baptist Church under the Anti-Black Racism Grants program.

The initiative, which was unveiled last year, is aimed at helping Black communities deal with systemic and historical challenges.

In recommending the funds, the city said the project will help preserve the stories and contributions of Beechville's ancestors, while fostering a "sense of pride, respect, and connection for families, visitors, and the broader community."

"It would be very important to our community that the gravesite is looking proper," said Iona Duncan-States, who is a member of the church cemetery committee. "The way it should be looking, for our loved ones."

The 85-year-old African Nova Scotian is also a deacon with the church and her mother, father, sister and nephew are buried in the cemetery.

She visits the graves every Sunday. She said she has noticed deteriorating conditions.

"The ground is sinking in spots," she said. "So we do need to do a total renovation of the gravesite. It's really in desperate need of repair."

Many members of the Halifax-area community that was founded in 1813 have family buried there, so it means a lot there is now money to restore the grounds.

Part of the grant will go toward helping identify some of the unmarked graves at the site.

A number of white crosses have fallen down at the church that has been a cornerstone of the community for nearly 200 years.

"To walk through the cemetery and see unmarked graves is kind of upsetting to me because there's still somebody there," said Josh Crawford, who is the funeral director in the community and cemetery assistant chair. "And so we're trying to figure out ways of recognizing who is in those plots."

Attempts will be made to identify some of the graves through archival research and by talking to residents. The eventual plan is to create a historical map of the grounds. 

"And just placing a marker there to show that … somebody is there," Crawford said.

It's expected work will begin within the next six months.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.