Hundreds help clean up Rocky Mount cemetery
Thousands of African Americans are buried at Unity Cemetery in Rocky Mount. For decades, it's been too peaceful at the cemetery, the people buried here all but forgotten.
Posted — Updated"This cemetery connects all of us together in Rocky Mount," says Tarrick Pittman, who used to play there as a child. "It’s a historical piece of property."
Pittman, along with his friend, Samuel Battle, organized a community clean-up day for the cemetery this past Saturday. More than 200 people volunteered to clean up leaves, pick up branches and wipe down the headstones.
"It’s a part of our history that is being lost, and we need to reclaim it," said Beatice Sumner, who traveled from Raleigh to help out after learning she has family buried at Unity. "We need to take it back and make sure that future generations are aware that this cemetery is here."
Black senators, veterans and other leaders rest among Unity Cemetery's 16+ acres. The clean-up process will take about a year, with a clean-up day scheduled for different portions of the site until December.
"We divided the cemetery into quadrants," explained Pittman, "[On Saturday] we [did] the two main quadrants towards the front entrance, so that people can actually get a better view when they pass by the highway."
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