Back in Black Bottom: The Changing Form of African American Burial Practices in a North Carolina Cemetery
Author(s): Jonathan P Smith
Year: 2013
Summary
The Black Bottom Memorial Cemetery is an African American community cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina which was in use throughout the 20th century. Mapping and surface survey of the cemetery revealed a large number of burials with significant, temporally linked, variation in burial practices. Multiple factors including economic status and the effects of segregation and other discriminatory practices are suggested as contributing to this variation. Comparison of the Black Bottom Memorial Cemetery with other African American cemeteries suggests that these changes are not strictly localized and may represent a broader pattern, one which has potential to aid in locating other African American cemeteries in rural areas.
Cite this Record
Back in Black Bottom: The Changing Form of African American Burial Practices in a North Carolina Cemetery. Jonathan P Smith. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, England, U.K. 2013 ( tDAR id: 428661)
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Keywords
General
20th Century
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African American cemetery
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Southeast
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
20th Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 521