file photo/Cadiz Record
Murray State University students (above) used ground-penetrating radar at East End Cemetery in October 2010 to identify the locations of unmarked graves, many of which are believed to be African American graves.
submitted
Pictured above is a sketch of what the memorial could look like.
Fourshee said this is the kind of project that requires a good deal of group involvement to be successful. “We seem to be a little stuck,” he said. “We’re going to forge ahead … if we don’t try, it’s not going to happen.”
Fourshee chairs the African American Memorial Committee, which was commissioned in 2010 by Cadiz Mayor Lyn Bailey. The objective of that committee is to raise $10,000 to purchase and install this monument to the unmarked graves of African Americans in East End Cemetery.
Other members of that committee include Kim Fortner, who like Fourshee is also on the Renaissance Board, Betty Wharton, Fred Wilson, LaVern Baker, who is also on the Trigg County Board of Education, former Cadiz City Council member Regina Jasper, Pat Rogers and Renaissance Director Leida Underhill.
Fourshee said the fact that there are five African Americans on this committee will help increase the involvement of the local African American Community in this project.
Fourshee said that while there are 54 African Americans buried there with no marker that they know of, based on death certificates, there could be more than that. Kentucky required death certificates to be registered at county courthouses starting in 1911, but the cemetery dates back to 1835.
For the rest of this story, see this week's issue of The Cadiz Record or subscribe to our e-Edition by calling 270-522-6605.
