Norton Announces Upcoming ‘Clean-up Our History Day at Woodlawn Cemetery' with Congressional Record Statement

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today, with a statement for the Congressional Record, announced her "Clean-up our History Day at Woodlawn Cemetery," which will take place on Saturday, October 19 at 10:00 a.m., at the cemetery (4661 Benning Road SE). All D.C. residents are invited and encouraged to join Norton, along with Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander, Lonnie G. Bunch, Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Major General Errol R. Schwartz, Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, and Dr. Vincent Hill, University of the District of Columbia Mortuary Science Program Director.

Norton, in her statement for the record, said, "Woodlawn Cemetery is the final resting place for many prominent African Americans, among them, Blanche K. Bruce, the first African American U.S. Senator; Mercer Langston, the first African American President of Virginia State University, the first dean of Howard University Law School and the first African American Member of Congress from the state of Virginia; and John Willis Menard, the first African American elected to Congress… I ask the House to join me as we recognize the volunteers from the District of Columbia National Guard, Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association, and families of loved ones interred at Woodlawn for their participation in the kickoff of the cleanup of historic Woodlawn Cemetery as we begin an effort to restore the cemetery to its rightful place on the historical map for the benefit of families, historians, scholars and visitors, and cast light on one of the most important periods in African American history."

The operations of the cemetery are entrusted to the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association. Most who work with the association are volunteers who have family members and loved ones buried at the cemetery.

Norton's full statement follows.

STATEMENT OF HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013

Ms. Norton. Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the historic Woodlawn Cemetery and in celebrating Clean-up our History Day at Woodlawn Cemetery in the District of Columbia on Saturday, October 19, 2013, at 10:00 a.m.

Woodlawn Cemetery is the final resting place for many prominent African Americans, among them, Blanche K. Bruce, the first African American U.S. Senator; Mercer Langston, the first African American President of Virginia State University, the first dean of Howard University Law School and the first African American Member of Congress from the state of Virginia; and John Willis Menard, the first African American elected to Congress. There are 36,000 African Americans buried at Woodlawn, including ordinary citizens but also many of the most distinguished African Americans of the 19th and the early 20th centuries.

Located in Southeast Washington D.C., Woodlawn Cemetery, for good reasons, has been on both the District of Columbia's Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places since the early 1990s. The daily operations of the cemetery are entrusted to the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association, but most who work with the association as volunteers have loved ones buried there. The main focus of the association is to preserve the cemetery and to raise funds to renovate and restore prominence to this sacred site.

This treasured site needs our help in the same way that a congressional resolution aided in getting assistance from citizens and from volunteers from the armed forces for the Congressional Cemetery two decades ago. The Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association, along with D.C. National Guard volunteers, has developed a cleanup plan to restore this historic site. On Saturday, October 19, 2013, we will celebrate the first Clean-up our History Day at Woodlawn Cemetery, 3900 Benning Road, SE, at 10:00 a.m. Joining us for the clean-up will be Yvette Alexander, Ward 7 Councilmember; Major General Errol R. Schwartz, Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard; Lonnie Bunch, Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture; Dr. Vincent Hill, University of the District of Columbia Mortuary Science Program Director; and supporting organizations and residents from all over the city.

I ask the House to join me as we recognize the volunteers from the District of Columbia National Guard, Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association, and families of loved ones interred at Woodlawn for their participation in the kickoff of the cleanup of historic Woodlawn Cemetery as we begin an effort to restore the cemetery to its rightful place on the historical map for the benefit of families, historians, scholars and visitors, and cast light on one of the most important periods in African American history.

Published: October 16, 2013