‘They’re seen’: Kentucky students help locate unmarked graves at St. Louis Cemetery
By Joyce Ogirri
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — At first glance, part of St. Louis Cemetery may look like an empty field. But beneath the grass are the final resting places of many Black Catholics whose graves have gone unmarked for generations.
“This is some way that we can restore dignity to people and restore dignity to families,” said Michele Abee Biskis, assistant professor of environmental studies at Bellarmine University.
Now, Bellarmine University students are using skills they learned in the classroom to help locate those graves and preserve the history of the people buried there.
“It’s important for them to know that their family members are here and they’re seen,” Bellarmine student Sam Safly said.
The work is part of the Unmarked Graves Project, led by Deacon Ned Berghausen and Linda Fitzgerald in partnership with Bellarmine University.
For years, Berghausen has worked to identify Black Catholics buried at St. Louis Cemetery.
Last year, Bellarmine students studying geographic information systems helped map the cemetery’s East Plot and Section X, two historically segregated areas.
This week, students returned to the cemetery to take the next step.
Using a grid, they are working to pinpoint the locations of graves and make sure no graves are missed.
“They were just doing some preliminary marking of Section X, which is a historically segregated part of the cemetery. There’s two segregated plots, this plot and then the East plot,” Biskis said.
For the students, the project is more than a classroom assignment.
“It would be really hard to know that you have someone in your family who was buried out here, but not know where they actually ended up, and/or having a place to visit,” student Deen Hooper said.
Biskis said the work is also about restoring dignity to the people buried there and their families.
The students will return to St. Louis Cemetery Wednesday to continue using GPS units to help locate and mark the graves.
They are expected to complete this portion of the Unmarked Graves Project by the end of the semester.
You can visit findagrave.com to search for your family members and learn more about where they’re buried.
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