“African American history is American history,” says Natalie Bell, a volunteer forging her own path to preserve and teach history.
Natalie has always had a passion for discovering and sharing stories. Her over 25-year career has included roles as a contributing writer for NPR and as an award-winning news reporter. Over time, telling the stories of our present led her to a passion for history, to tell the stories of our not-so-distant past. She now volunteers with the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) of Nashville, Tennessee Historical Commission, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and African American cemeteries across the state.
Throughout history, African American cemeteries have too often been neglected, mismanaged and forgotten. Many African American graves were not formally marked, due to the expense of purchasing a gravestone. Instead, a piece of pottery might be used to mark the loved one’s grave, leaving the site vulnerable to being lost. In fact, African American graves and sometimes entire cemeteries – particularly family cemeteries in rural areas – were lost.
As a volunteer, Natalie is motivated to discover and preserve the stories of people held in these burial grounds. She does this primarily by researching and documenting graves that were previously lost. “These graveyards are a visual reminder of our history,” she says, noting that when a cemetery holds people who died before 1850, they are likely to include enslaved people. “I like the idea,” she says, of bringing about “understanding where there is none and contributing to collective experiences where people see the common ground that we have. That, to me, is one of the reasons worth living–if I’m contributing to society and doing something to better society.”
Many African American stories have yet to be discovered and told. For those interested in volunteering, Natalie suggests starting with a historical or genealogical society, local library or courthouse. She puts aside any doubt, saying there is always something to be done. If you’re interested in contributing to the work of preserving African American grave sites, you can visit BlackCemeteryNetwork.org or contribute to the grave database at FindAGrave.com.
Natalie’s commitment to finding and sharing African American stories impacts our collective understanding of American history. Every gravestone documented, paper digitized and story discovered makes a difference. Each is a way to “Bless those souls so they would forever rest in peace and power for the life that they lived.”
