Cemetery, Community, Classroom: Collaborations Between Duke and the Friends of Geer Cemetery

Cemetery, Community, Classroom: Collaborations Between Duke and the Friends of Geer Cemetery Sept. 10, 12 - 1 p.m. Register here to receive the event Zoom link: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_881JnjzMkmGCQYe Debra Taylor Gonzalez-Garcia (President, Friends of Geer Cemetery), Nyrobi Manuel (Story+ Researcher) and Adam Rosenblatt (Associate Professor of the Practice in International Comparative Studies) Located two miles from Duke's campus, Geer Cemetery was founded in 1877 by members of Durham's African American community and is both a sacred place and an archive of Durham history that has suffered institutional neglect lasting through the Jim Crow era to the present day. The Friends of Geer Cemetery, is a nonprofit working to restore the cemetery's grounds and research its histories. A 2020 service-learning course, "Death, Burial, and Justice in the Americas," partnered with the organization to research the lives of people buried at Geer. The following summer a Duke Story+ program further explored issues of labor and African American burial networks, including local funeral homes. This presentation will offer perspectives from a community leader, professor, and student involved in project, revealing how community engagement at Duke can widen to incorporate the marginalized dead.