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Ceremony to honor those disinterred under Jim Crow

PRE News & Ideas | By George Olsen
Published February 27, 2020 at 4:53 PM EST

Those affected by an injustice that occurred at the height of Jim Crow will be remembered at a ceremony Saturday afternoon. In the early 1900s at least a dozen African Americans were disinterred from New Bern’s historic Cedar Grove Cemetery in order to make room for the burial of more whites. Those bodies were moved to Greenwood Cemetery and buried in a mass grave. An article in the New Bern Sun Journal in 2014 brought citizens to address the city with their concerns. The grave was excavated last year, leading to a decision to leave the commingled remains at Greenwood. The city and citizens who raised the issue agreed to place two historical plaques honoring those whose remains were moved near the entrance of both cemeteries. A public ceremony takes place Saturday (Feb. 29) at 1:00 pm at St. Peter’s AME Zion Church. The plaques will be permanently installed next month.

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Cedar Grove CemeteryGreenwood Cemetery
George Olsen
George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.
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