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Protecting sacred history. Restoring dignity. Rebuilding truth.
Protecting sacred history. Restoring dignity. Rebuilding truth.
The Bruton Town Descendants Heritage Initiative (BTDHI) is committed to documenting the full history of the cemetery, restoring rightful dignity to those buried there, and pursuing truth and accountability for the damage done in August 2025.
These founding priorities guide Phase I of our work: recovering what was lost, protecting what remains, and restoring what was desecrated.
- Document & Verify Every Burial connected to Bruton Town
A primary objective is to identify, verify, and preserve the full record of burials at Bruton Town. To date, descendants have already recovered 20+ death certificates confirming burials in Bruton Town that do not appear in Robin Coon's historical compilation.
We will work to:
Build a complete and verified burial database
Recover records: death certificates, obituaries, funeral logs, census files, oral histories
Compare historic boundaries with present-day maps and property records
Partner with archivists, genealogists, funeral homes, and community elders
"Every name matters. Every family deserves the truth."
2. Identify & Confirm Descendants of those Buried at Bruton Town
2. Identify & Confirm Descendants of those Buried at Bruton Town
We are actively identifying descendants connected to the cemetery. This work includes outreach, documentation, genealogical research, and the creation of a secure descendant contact list.
Our goals:
Create a secure descendant registry
Collect family stories, photographs, lineage documents, and oral histories
Engage families in truth-telling, remembrance, and accountability work
Create a communication system for updates, meetings, and actions
This ensures that families most impacted remain at the center of decision-making, restoration, and advocacy.
3. Host the Bruton Town Descendants Kickoff Meeting
3. Host the Bruton Town Descendants Kickoff Meeting
The inaugural meeting will gather descendants, community witnesses, and local partners to review findings, share historical evidence, discuss priorities, and align on the path forward.
This convening sets the foundation for collaboration, truth-seeking, and unified advocacy.
Meeting goals include:
Bring together descendants, community leaders, historians, and partner organizations
Share the investigative findings and historical context
Gather community feedback, testimonies, and additional evidence
Formally launch the long-term roadmap and descendant committees
4. Establish a Preservation Fund
4. Establish a Preservation Fund
A dedicated Preservation Fund supports research, site documentation, mapping, education, legal protections, and restorative measures.
Key uses include:
Cemetery documentation and mapping tools
Drone and scanning technology
Historical research assistance
Legal consultations
Protective signage and barriers
Memory preservation and storytelling
All donations are processed through Access to Change, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and will be sued exclusively for Bruton Town preservation and truth-recovery work.
5. Investigate Suspected Burials Beneath the Community Center
5. Investigate Suspected Burials Beneath the Community Center
Historical sources, oral histories, and inconsistencies in earlier boundary descriptions indicate that part of the original Bruton Town cemetery may lie beneath the current community center constructed in the 1990s.
We will pursue:
Mapping of historical plats to confirm original boundaries
Examination of county records and construction permits
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR), if permitted
Interviews with residents and elders familiar with the site's pre-construction condition
Comparision of death certificate burial locations with mapped parcels
Documentation of all findings for public record and legal review
This priority is essential to ensuring that every ancestor — regardless of where they now lie — is acknowledged, respected, and protected.
6. Engage Local, State, and National Partners
6. Engage Local, State, and National Partners
Restoration of Bruton Town requires broad collaboration.
We aim to:
Collaborate with universities, historians, genealogists, and preservation experts
Connect with African American burial ground initiatives and national networks
Partner with churches, civic groups, and Black heritage organizations
Work with city/county agencies for access, documentation, and ordinance review
Build long-term partnerships to safeguard truth, justice, and remembrance
These collaborations strengthen our ability to uncover truth, pursue accountability, and protect the site long-term.
This is the beginning of a generational restoration effort — one that will ensure the names, lives, and legacy of those buried at Bruton Town are remembered, respected, and restored. If you have information that can help advance these priorities, please reach out.
This is the beginning of a generational restoration effort — one that will ensure the names, lives, and legacy of those buried at Bruton Town are remembered, respected, and restored. If you have information that can help advance these priorities, please reach out.
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