Photo courtesy: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, Alpha Xi Omega Chapter
In observance of the Juneteenth holiday, the Alpha Xi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is leading the efforts of “The Oak Cliff Cemetery Project.”
The collaborative community service project consists of cleaning approximately 200 grave sites and placing flowers and flags on each grave marker at the Oak Cliff Cemetery. Areas of the cemetery has been neglected for many years, and many of the graves are of former slaves.
Juneteenth commemorates the historic day of June 19, 1865, when the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, three years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the proclamation. Today, this significance of freedom is observed through a day of reflection, rejoicing and celebrations.
Clean-up days at the cemetery have taken place throughout May and June with the final one taking place on June 19 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Members of the sorority have battled the sun and rain weekly during their cleanup efforts. The women have spent hours moving brush, cutting down overgrown tree branches, picking up trash, pulling weeds and trimming the grass around the graves in preparation for the Juneteenth event.
The public event is being held Wednesday at the cemetery from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., where the community can join the cleaning and beautification efforts of the grave sites. Donations of flowers and decorations for the graves are also welcomed. Additionally, family members of those buried at the cemetery are encouraged to participate by coming out to celebrate the life and memories of their loved ones.
The morning will conclude with a time of recognition and reflection at the Greater El Bethel Church, which was built by enslaved people.
