CARLISLE, Pa. — The Carlisle Borough Council announced Thursday that it passed a resolution acknowledging and apologizing for the removal of all grave markers and headstones from the Lincoln Cemetery in 1972.
The council said its resolution acknowledges "the suffering and pain caused by centuries of discrimination and racial inequity in Borough government and the auspices over which she has jurisdiction."
Lincoln Cemetery served as the final resting place for at least 650 Black Carlisle citizens, including more than 50 U.S. Colored Troop members and Civil War veterans.
Due to poor upkeep, the cemetery was converted to what is now known as Memorial Park, the council said.
Beginning in 2019, descendants of those buried in Lincoln Cemetery joined with Borough Council, staff, members of the US Army War College Class of 2019, and the Cumberland County Historical Society to begin the process of returning the land into the sacred ground it once was.
The council said its resolution "further affirms the borough's commitment to moving forward as a more compassionate, caring, and inclusive community, as well as educating ourselves about the past and its impacts on the present."
The resolution appears below.
WHEREAS, Carlisle Borough Council apologizes for any and all past participation in the sanctioning of segregation and systemic racism toward African-Americans and other people of color, particularly in relation to the events that led to the removal of all grave markers and headstones, except for one, in the Lincoln Cemetery in 1972, and
WHEREAS, Lincoln Cemetery was the final resting place for at least 650 Black Carlislians from circa 1804-1905 and includes physicians, educators, and more than 50 United States Colored Troop members and Civil War veterans, and
WHEREAS, Fleta Jordan sought to maintain the history of this sacred land in petition to local government as evidenced in various Sentinel archives and personal journal reflections, being successful only in the remaining Jordan headstone that has pointed the Borough’s history to a truth that cannot be denied, and
WHEREAS, the ashes of Barry Keith Campbell were interred on this site in 2002, and Lincoln Cemetery, the story down under," was authored in 2011 by Janet Bell served as contemporary reminders of the significance of Lincoln Cemetery, and
WHEREAS, it is important that we as elected leaders of Borough government take accountability for our past and recognize the damage caused by some of the worst chapters in our community's history and inflicted upon generations of Carlisle residents, those interred and the descendants thereof, and
WHEREAS, we are moving forward as a more compassionate, caring and inclusive community, which means acknowledging the suffering and pain caused by centuries of discrimination and racial inequity in Borough government and the auspices over which she has jurisdiction, and
WHEREAS, Borough Council, staff, members of the USAWC Class of 2019, Cumberland County Historical Society, and representative descendants of those who were laid to rest in the Lincoln Cemetery came together in the Summer of 2019 to begin the process of returning that land into the sacred ground it once was, and
WHEREAS, healing will begin as we educate ourselves about the past, recognize its impacts on the present, and move forward towards a more equitable future for all.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, Carlisle Borough Council issues a long overdue acknowledgement of the Borough’s history including choices that were made, actions that were taken, and legislation that was passed, and reflects upon its present objectives, policies and goals related to the protection of all individuals from racism, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Carlisle Borough Council together with the Borough Manager and the Carlisle Borough Human Relations Commission, will continue to plan for an open community dialogue incorporating awareness and education regarding racism in the Borough of Carlisle, with its first conversation to be held in the first quarter of 2021.
