Last Saturday, May 21, Columbia, South Carolina celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Randolph Cemetery. This was the first cemetery for African Americans in the city that was created by and owned by African Americans. It is a product of the changes wrought by Reconstruction. Previously, the deaths of Black people might go unrecorded and burials would take place where slave owners allowed. During Reconstruction, Black communities erected their own churches and created burial grounds. The following is from local news reports:
Randolph Cemetery was developed in 1872 by a group of African American businessmen, and it was the first formal, private cemetery for African Americans in Columbia. Named in honor of assassinated S.C. Senator Benjamin F. Randolph, the cemetery is the final resting place for more than a dozen Reconstruction era state legislators. It is also the burial site for Civil-Rights era, religious, professional, and educational leaders, as well as everyday people. It is an important local cultural and historic site.
The cemetery is owned by the Committee for the Beautification and Restoration of Randolph Cemetery (CBRRC,) a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. Its mission is “to see Randolph Cemetery is a beautifully restored and secure cultural heritage site, to ensure its continued maintenance, to educate the public of its importance, and to encourage the community to visit.” CBRRC Board members are Staci Richey, Regina Montieth, Dr. Walletta Johnson, Calvernetta Williams, and Dr. Sherry Jaco.
The 150th Anniversary Commemoration program, conducted by CBRRC board members, featured a welcome, recognitions, some Randolph Cemetery history, and information on current projects. The featured speaker was Dr. Bobby Donaldson, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina and an expert in African American history. The program was followed by a cake cutting and conversation among the attendees in the downstairs assembly room of Zion Baptist.
After the gathering at the church, tours of historic Randolph Cemetery were conducted which highlighted the lives of influential African Americans buried there. The grave sites featured on the tour were leaders during the post-civil war Reconstruction period (1868–1877) through the beginning of the first Civil Rights Era of the 1940s. Even though some were born into slavery, they were able to earn an education and became leaders who helped shape life in South Carolina during a period of political and social upheaval. Those sites visited on the tour included Senator Benjamin F. Randolph, Samuel Benjamin Thompson, Lucius M. Wimbush, Charles Wilder, Rev. Henry Cardoza, Robert John Palmer, Agnes Jackson Simons, William Beverly Nash, and George A. Elmore. There are a variety of headstone styles visible along the southern border of the cemetery. In addition, there is also a variety of materials including marble, granite, and even concrete, with some homemade headstones.
The Civil War broke out in 1861 and lasted until the spring of 1865. After the war, the South experienced a period of Reconstruction over the next decade, lasting until 1877. The federal government kept a contingent of Union troops in Columbia and in many other southern towns to try and discourage violence against African Americans and to enforce laws that brought the South back into the fold of the United States. Many northerners (known as “Carpetbaggers”) and African Americans took on leadership roles in local and state governments.
It was during this time local business leaders created Randolph Cemetery. One of the biggest changes of the era was the transition of African Americans from a system of slavery to one of freedom. In South Carolina, African Americans reached the highest political tier in the 1860s, the state legislature, and we were the only state to have a majority of African American legislators. For a short time, both the African American and the white races worked together for the first time in state government, but racial tension extended to all facets of social, economic, and cultural life.
This commemoration of Randolph Cemetery’s 150 Years is significant because it highlights an important historic and cultural location in downtown Columbia. Many people are unaware of the contributions made by prominent African Americans during the Reconstruction period (1868–1877.)
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