Something tells me that this is long overdue; but I guess its better late than never.
Thirty-six gravestones in Northern California with the N-word on them will be replaced and redesigned.
The graves of pioneers of different races from a Gold Rush settlement called Negro Hill were moved from a mining town in 1954 to make room for a dam. During this process, the concrete headstones read that the settlers were from N-word Hill.
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted and unanimously agreed the gravestones need to be changed.
There has been some controversy about who should be responsible for the project. John Knight, Supervisor of California Prison Industry Authority, where the gravesite is located, proposed that it be a program for inmates, free of charge to the county. However, an advocacy group seeking the removal of the headstones believes the black community should be the decision makers.
“It’s embarrassing, and it’s insulting to us for it to be there, and for you to take under consideration to let some prisoners fix it?” said Ralph White, a member of the community said. “We would love for them to help us, we would love for you to help us, anybody to help us. But we would like to be the leading agent, to show what we want.”
White argued that if a racially charged incident requiring change targets Native Americans or Jewish people, those communities would have been included. He wants the same.
Donors are already in place to fit the bill for changing the headstones which cost $400 a piece. While money is not an issue, what will happen to the old headstones is. Some want them sent to museums or universities and colleges, while others want them gone for good.
Seems like they should be displayed somewhere. There seems to be much to learn here, as its 2011, and they are only now being removed.
To Join the Your Black World Coalition, visit: http://yourblackworld.com/
