Updated: KY heritage group meets with mayor after sign removed from historic cemetery

The Scott County African American Heritage Association met with Georgetown Mayor Burney Jenkins after a sign meant to honor the history of those buried at Old Georgetown Cemetery was removed by the city.

Member Willa Gentry of the Scott County African American Heritage Association said the association has spent years cleaning up the cemetery and learning the history of those buried there. The association put the sign up to honor them. Gentry was frustrated that the sign was taken down.

The sign identifies the cemetery, notes its first documented burial in 1818, and provides insight into the history of the cemetery.

“There’s no reason for him to take the sign down, and there’s nothing derogatory on the sign, everything on the sign is historical,” Gentry said.

Gentry was informed by the Scott County Road Department that the mayor requested the sign be removed. Gentry said she didn’t want the sign taken away by the mayor’s office and has held onto it since then.

Gentry said the local heritage association went to the county office and found the deed to the cemetery, which says the cemetery ownership rights are unknown. Because of that, Gentry believes the sign should be allowed to stay up.

In the last two years of her involvement, Gentry said the local heritage association hasn’t faced any problems with past projects at the cemetery. The group installed a new flag pole and replaced 22 damaged headstones with help from the Department of Defense.

Gentry said the association is currently waiting for the arrival of a pioneer cemetery marker and still working to uncover more of the lost headstones.

To further honor the cemetery, Gentry said she has been working on researching each individual headstone and family because “there’s so much history that needs to be told.”

As a veteran, Gentry said she was hooked the first time she went to the cemetery. She saw emblems from the U.S. Colored Infantry and 9th and 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers. Those groups of soldiers dated back to the Civil War and post-Civil War era, according to the U.S. National Parks Service and the National Museum of the United States Army.

Although it’s named the Old Georgetown Cemetery, many knew the nickname to be the “Old Colored Cemetery” due to the number of Black people buried there, according to Gentry.

“That’s what upsets me about not wanting the sign because those stories need to be told,” Gentry said.

In a statement to the Herald-Leader, the mayor’s office said it did not oppose the initiative from the African American Heritage Association, but the mayor’s office wanted to be consulted in the process.

“The signage was removed because the City was not consulted regarding the sign’s placement, the narrative on the sign, etc.,” the city said in a statement. “The City of Georgetown has no opposition to this initiative; as the party ultimately responsible for the maintenance of this public cemetery, we simply need to be involved in the process.”

Heritage association has to get approval from city council

After meeting with the mayor Wednesday, Gentry said Jenkins expressed concern that the sign could offend some people. Gentry said specifics weren’t provided on issues with the sign.

The mayor’s office didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from the Herald-Leader.

“How we gonna deal with the complaint when we don’t know what the complaint is?” Gentry said.

The group plans to go in front of the city council July 10.

This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 12:44 PM.