Old Cemetery at Friendship Chapel
Using Data, Partnership and Public Engagement to Protect a Historic Site and Rebuild Community Trust
Challenge: Protect and document a historically significant, at-risk African American burial site while building trust with a community historically disconnected from the museum.
Some of the most important work in public institutions begins not with a program, but with a recognition—that something valuable is at risk, and that inaction carries consequences.
When I became aware of the Old Cemetery once used by Friendship Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, it was a largely undocumented site: a wooded burial ground, with fragile folk art headstones, tied to one of the oldest African American congregations in Wake Forest. Burials dated to the 1870s and included individuals who had formerly been enslaved.
At the same time, the site was increasingly vulnerable, with nearby residential and commercial development placing physical pressure on its boundaries and long-term preservation. The cemetery’s historical significance was clear. Its protection was not.
I made the decision to bring the project forward.
As Assistant Director of the Wake Forest Historical Museum, I developed and wrote the grant proposal that framed the work, positioning the cemetery not only as a preservation priority, but as an opportunity for the museum to take a more active and credible role in documenting and sharing African American history.
After securing funding, I led execution from end to end—identifying and contracting a specialized firm to conduct a survey with ground-penetrating radar, managing the project budget and deliverables and ensuring the work met both historical and scientific standards.
The findings fundamentally changed what was known about the site. The survey identified 567 individual burials, including a previously undocumented mass grave, and established the cemetery’s full boundaries—critical information for protecting it against future encroachment. The project was completed on time and exactly on budget, generating a great deal of public interest. Beyond the data itself, the findings created a defensible foundation for preservation planning, including a successful effort to secure Local Historic Landmark designation.
Equally important was how the work was carried out.
567
likely burials
detected by
radar
80
years of use
by the
congregation
1.64
acres of
wooded cemetery
to protect
1
mass grave
linked to the
1918 flu
The museum had not historically been seen as a trusted partner within the town’s Black community. I understood that the success of this project depended not only on technical execution, but on how relationships were built and maintained. I worked directly with church leadership, including the Rev. Dr. Enoch Holloway, to establish a collaborative approach—ensuring that the congregation’s voice, history and priorities were reflected in how the project was designed and communicated.
This was not transactional engagement; it was the beginning of a more intentional partnership.
I also focused on ensuring the work was visible, accessible and meaningful beyond the immediate project team. I hired professional historians and supported their development of an interactive Story Map to share findings publicly, and then I coordinated a community forum to present results. I also reached out to local media to extend awareness of the cemetery’s significance. The project generated regional media coverage and culminated in recognition through an Anthemion Award for excellence in historic preservation.
The importance of the cemetery and its history was then shared with Wake Forest University faculty, students and administrators, who integrated field trips into their courses of academic study. This ensured the site would not remain isolated or overlooked, but would become part of the broader historical and educational framework of the community.
The results were both tangible and directional. The cemetery is now documented, recognized and better protected. The museum established a foundation for a stronger relationship with a community that had reason to be cautious. And the organization demonstrated its ability to lead work that is historically sensitive, operationally complex and publicly consequential.
This project reflects a leadership approach grounded in responsibility and trust: recognizing when institutional action is needed, structuring that action with care and ensuring that both the outcome and the process contribute to long-term credibility and community value.
The Survey Report for the Old Cemetery at Friendship Chapel Missionary Baptist Church contains the historic record.
