This article was found at www.nytimes.com.
Sandra A. Arnold grew up in a small rural town in West Tennessee, surrounded by where her ancestors were once enslaved. When she was a teenager, she realized that the old church they went to was a short distance from a cemetery that housed many individuals. The cemetery contained an area with graves marked only with plain rocks of various sizes, and these people were those who had been enslaved and lived and died in Arnold's community. For a while, she felt no personal connection to her great grandfather Ben who was born into slavery around 1855 and actually buried in that cemetery. Yet, after visiting his grave, that completely changed for her. Instead of referring to him as "just some distant relative who was enslaved," she called him "Grandpa Ben."
The author argued that memorialization keeps us connected to what is most significant about those who are no longer with us. She wonders what it means that the grave sites of countless enslaved Americans have not been afforded the recognition they deserve. She uses substantial anecdotes from her childhood that support how important it is to her that these people receive the memorial they should get. Besides just telling experiences she has had with her family, Arnold continued her research to the National Burial Database of Enslaved Americans, and also looking up burial grounds that are in danger of being lost. She mentions a community in Shelby County, Alabama, and a church congregation in Queens, New York to support her argument. All of this specific evidence displays what a horrible problem this has become, and also opens up to the reader's eyes about how relevant and disturbing this problem actually is. I didn't know that this was an issue before, so I am certain that she was able to achieve her purpose because her evidence as so specific and intellectually moving.
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