AN AFRICAN AMERICAN BURIAL GROUND IN PHILADELPHIA “DISCOVERED,” PROTECTED, ERADICATED

Construction in 2018 brought to light a previously unknown Black graveyard that operated from 1826 to 1882 on the outskirts of densely populated Philadelphia. To assure dignified burials, founders of the African Friends to Harmony Burial Ground created a “beneficial,” a form widely used by contemporary African Americans. Burials ended in 1882 as urban development encroached on the graveyard. Within a few decades, it had been erased from property deeds and public memory. In 2019–20, the two churches deemed descendant communities by the property owner, the University of Pennsylvania, chose to relocate the remains. This article points to instances where Black cemeteries have been retained in place or emerged as crucial instances of public engagement. Exploring the aspirations and struggles of those who established and tended African Friends to Harmony ground, the article reveals the richness of its history but the missed opportunity to commemorate the region’s complex past.