Initiatives

Project Sacred Ground: Reclaiming Our Ancestral Resting Places

History doesn’t just live in books; it’s etched into the very soil beneath our feet. Unfortunately, many African American burial grounds—the final resting places of our trailblazers, servicemen, and family matriarchs—have been overtaken by time, nature, and systemic neglect.

Project Sacred Ground is our society’s flagship initiative to find, clear, and preserve these hallowed spaces. We believe that a headstone (or even an unmarked grave) is more than a marker; it’s a vital link to a story that deserves to be told.

Our Restoration Process

With our partnership with Mercer University and Georgia State University, we meticulously restore with reverence and scientific care. Our efforts focus on:

Discovery & Mapping: Using historical property deeds and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to locate forgotten burial sites.
Conservation: Carefully removing invasive vegetation and cleaning headstones.
Identification: Matching burial sites with death certificates and oral histories to “give back the names” to those marked only by fieldstones.
Digital Archiving: Creating GPS-tagged digital maps so descendants across the country can locate their ancestors with ease.

Why This Work Is Urgent

In many cases, these cemeteries are the only physical evidence of a community’s existence. By restoring them, we:

Stop Erasure: Ensuring that development and time don’t wipe our ancestors off the map.
Provide Closure: Helping families find the “missing link” in their genealogical tree.
Create Outdoor Classrooms: Turning these sites into places of reflection and historical education for the next generation.

“To be forgotten is to die twice. We are here to ensure our ancestors live on in our memory and in our care.”

How You Can Help

Whether you’re ready to pick up a pair of shears, help with historical research, or fund the purchase of preservation supplies, your hands are welcome. We host “Clean Up Days” throughout the year, where the community comes together to breathe life back into these sacred spaces.

The Heritage Scholars Program: Investing in the Next Generation of Storytellers

At Pope Barrow Heritage, we often look to the past, but our eyes are firmly set on the future. We believe that the best way to honor our ancestors’ sacrifices is to equip their descendants with the tools to succeed.

The Heritage Scholars Program is our flagship educational initiative. It provides financial support to ambitious students who recognize that understanding their history is the foundation for building their legacy. We aren’t just funding tuition; we are investing in the next generation of historians, leaders, and change-makers.

Preserving the Voices of Our Elders

In our community, the most valuable archives aren’t found in basements or museums—they are sitting in rocking chairs, at kitchen tables, and on front porches. Every time an elder passes away, a library of firsthand history, wisdom, and lineage burns down.

The Voices of Our Elders Initiative is our dedicated effort to record, transcribe, and archive the oral histories of our family matriarchs and patriarchs. We don’t just want to know where we came from; we want to know how it felt, what it sounded like, and the lessons learned along the way.