OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — History will be made Saturday in Liberty, Missouri. A group named Clay County African American Legacy will officially break ground on a memorial honoring more than 700 African Americans buried with unmarked graves.
AJ Byrd, Dr. Cecelia Robinson and other members of/volunteers with Clay County African American Legacy have spent years researching who is buried in Fairview and New Hope cemeteries, which from roughly 1850 to 1950 was the only place in the city where African Americans were allowed to bury their loved ones.
“In order to move forward in the future, you have to know where you came from,” said Byrd, president of Clay County African American Legacy. “We’ve had to go and dig and search deep because it hasn’t been on the surface. It has not been taught in our schools. It requires effort.”
The groundbreaking is part of a larger event taking place Saturday which combines Missouri’s Bicentennial with Juneteenth. After the Liberty African American Legacy Memorial groundbreaking, organizers will caravan to Ruth Moore Park where they will dedicate two new historical markers honoring Moore, the park’s namesake, and Samuel C. Houston, the first African American elected in Clay County, Missouri, who is also Byrd’s uncle.
“Leadership was a part of who he was,” Byrd remembered.
Clay County African American Legacy has spent years installing murals, monuments and other points of interest around Liberty to highlight how African Americans helped form the city. Robinson said the cemetery monument and new historical placards pave the way for a bright future.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to come together and share in a community project that is diverse and inclusive of all of us who are a part of this great community,” Robinson explained.
Here’s a schedule of events for Saturday:
- 9:30 a.m. Fairview Cemetery, 239 West Shrader Street, Liberty, MO.
- Break ground on the Liberty African American Legacy Memorial.
- 11 a.m Ruth Moore Park, 401 Grover St, Liberty, Mo.
- Joint Juneteenth and Missouri Bicentennial event.
- Dedicate historical makers to Ruth Moore and Samuel C. Houston.
- Includes entertainment and food for sale.
