A community erected a monument to venerate more than 300 enslaved people in unmarked graves as part of a Juneteenth celebration
The Elizabeth Parade featured marching bands and community organizations. DJs spun tunes while passengers danced and waved flags as they rode on floats sponsored by local business owners, civic groups and sororities.
She says a few years ago the city combined the Heritage Parade with the Juneteenth celebrations, so now they have one big event in June which she helped to produce. The 313+ Ancestors Speak Project monument, created by artist Sterling Brown, prior to the unveiling, stands in the cemetery of Siloam-Hope First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth on Sunday, June 18, 2023. The monument honors over 313 unmarked graves found in the cemetery.Rev. Dr. Wanda Lundy is the pastor at Siloam-Hope First Presbyterian Church, formerly the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown.
After that discovery, Rev. Lundy said she could hear the ancestors asking to be called by their names. She set out to do just that and found that she had a community who were ready, willing and able to assist her in venerating the dead in those unmarked graves behind the church. She says some women came out of the church and approached her and her husband and asked them who they were. One of them was Rev. Lundy who helped them to find her ancestor’s grave. Benz and Lundy had a nice visit and about a month later Lundy called Benz and told her about the 313+ Ancestors Speak Project and asked if she would like to serve on the board. Benz said yes.
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