On April 19, 2014, I had the privilege of accompanying my students on a trip to Elmwood Cemetery. At that time, Elmwood was hosting an annual African American History Tour that featured a guided tour of some of the most influential Memphians of African American descent. Students learned of the Walker family, who began the Universal Life Insurance Company on Vance and Danny Thomas, Aleda Condell, a former slave who became a Latin teacher, and of Robert Church, a prominent landowner and businessman, and father of activist Mary Church Terrell.
Our tour was the subject of an item in The Commercial Appeal.
The Church family crypt.
A student of mine, Angel Lacy, takes notes during the tour.
The headstone of journalist L. Alex Wilson and his wife. Wilson was the editor of the Tri-State Defender, and was attacked by racists during his coverage of the Little Rock integration.
The headstone of Mary J. Langston, the beloved cook of Elvis Presley.
The director at Elmwood gives the history of African Americans in Memphis.
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