Bethel Burying Ground Memorial at Weccacoe

How do we judge and interpret the actions and inactions of the church, city, and neighborhood, now 120 years in the past, without imposing our contemporary values and biases on them?

After the discovery of an African-American burial ground, the search for a fitting tribute

by Duncan Spencer

Queen Village is home to the oldest religiously affiliated, African- American burial ground in Philadelphia, and, quite possibly, the country. Older African-American burial sites exist in the form of private cemeteries, in the churchyard at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, as well as in potter’s fields—areas that receive burials for paupers and strangers to the community. But Bethel Burying Ground is the first church-affiliated plot of land bought with the intention to serve as a cemetery for African-Americans.

It occupies the southwest third of Weccacoe Playground on Queen Street between Lawrence and Leithgow streets, and it was discovered during plans for a major renovation.

Last fall, the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Site Memorial Committee was founded under the guidance of Mayor Jim Kenney’s Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy (OACCE), which is responsible for all public art in Philadelphia. The committee’s mission is to develop a meaningful memorialization for the site that reflects its role in Philadelphia history. Per its mission, “Committee members and the project are committed to an inclusive public engagement process in the development of a purposeful portrayal of this historic site that reveals the vital story and celebrates those laid to rest there.”

Since September 2017, many volunteers, including QVNA President Eleanor Ingersoll, myself, as well as 11 other committee people, have been working to help create a fitting memorial for the site. Through this process, the committee has grappled with profound questions: What constitutes art? Should a commemoration be summed up by a piece of art? Or do we want a design, concept, or a message?

Just as difficult, how do we judge and interpret the actions and inactions of the church, city, and neighborhood, now 120 years in the past, without imposing our contemporary values and biases on them?

Operational questions abound as well: Where will the commemoration physically be located? What are the constrictions imposed by the site? What will the artist/ designer/commemorators be given as a canvas? If the building is removed, can something be placed on the foundation?

What do we do with the part of the cemetery that runs under the Lawrence Street sidewalk, where nearly 900 people may be buried?

The first round of public input has passed, which included three public meetings in different areas of the city, and concluded with a fourth and final meeting here in Queen Village on Dec. 11. It was facilitated by OACCE’s Kelly Lee, the city’s chief cultural officer.

Kelly Lee, the chief cultural officer for the City of Philadelphia, has been leading public sessions to determine a fitting memorial for the site of an African American burial ground. It was discovered under Weccacoe Playground on Queen Street between Lawrence and Leithgow streets.

Photo by Richard Carey courtesy of Jazz Philadelphia

Lee made it clear from the outset that the purpose of these meetings was to collect input from interested communities to help inform the artists and designers in producing proposals, and, later, final designs.

She also made clear that the purpose of these meetings was not to hear design ideas or suggestions on what the memorial should look like. Despite Lee’s best efforts, much of the QVNA meeting was, in fact, taken up by neighbors’ design ideas, but she was gentle as she steered us back to the more limited task of collecting inspiration for the artists in the form of emotions and reactions.

Questions to the group encouraged people to think about descriptive words that helped identify the place as it was and as it is now; what emotions might come up if an ancestor were interned there; what kinds of emotions a memorial should evoke, and what each of us would want visitors to remember. At each of the meetings (I attended three with Ingersoll), we went through the same process of introductions, hearing site history, an overview of the process, and then answering these questions, which will be compiled and presented to design teams.

Because of the proximity and familiarity with the site, the Queen Village meeting had a greater focus on the physical aspects of the site than other meetings, so we spent some time on those discussions.

The whole site, an active and heavily used community space, will remain a playground, but not much else is yet clear on how the site-specific memorial will take shape; it’s not necessarily limited to being on top of the actual cemetery.

The city has approximately $100,000 to help the project move forward, and anything above that amount will require fundraising. The current building will be deconsructed by hand, and the south 20 feet of the tennis court, the portion over the cemetery—will be “removed,” though that has not yet been defined. Demolition will happen during a “site preparation” period after all plans are finalized, and Councilman Mark Squilla’s office will meet with residents this spring to hear ideas about how to replace lost amenities. ■

Proposed Timeline for Bethel Memorial

In spring of 2019, Queen Village residents can expect meetings with Councilman Squilla to discuss how to replace lost amenities. The date for that meeting has not yet been established.

■■ Fall 2018: Memorial public engagement meetings

■■ Winter 2018: Call to artists for memorial

■■ Spring 2019: Committee selects 4 to 5 finalists

■■ Spring 2019: Plans, designs, and cost estimates finalized for playground amenities

■■ Summer 2019: Opportunity for public comment on finalist proposals

■■ Summer 2019: Committee selects artist and design for memorial

■■ Fall 2019: Philadelphia Art Commission approval of memorial

■■ Winter 2019 to Spring 2020: Memorial fabrication

■■ Fall/Winter 2020: Site preparation for memorial installation

■■ Spring 2020: Memorial installation and dedication

For the most complete discussion on this topic see Terry Buckalew’s website bethelburyinggroundproject.com. Terry is also a committee member, and through his research 2,489 of the interned have been identified thus far.

QVNA'S COMMUNITY MEETING to discuss the Bethel Burying Ground Memorial plans will be Wednesday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. Join us at St Philip Neri Church, 218 Queen Street, along with Aparna Palatino from the Department of Parks and Rec, Kelly Lee from the Office of Arts and Culture and the Creative Economy, and Councilman Mark Squilla. Come hear plans, ask questions, and be informed about the changes coming to Weccacoe playground. ■