In May 1963, an estimated 2,000 people marched to Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago’s South Side to protest against racial segregation in cemeteries. This crowd comprised Black undertakers, ministers, and NAACP officials holding signs demanding equality in death, echoing the sentiment that discrimination in life should not translate into segregation in burial.
The marchers directed most of their ire towards Oak Woods, the largest cemetery in the South Side’s Black neighborhoods, which had systematically excluded African Americans since around 1913. At the time, a circular advertisement from Oak Woods made its intentions clear, stating that its facilities were “for the exclusive use of the Caucasian race.”
Rev. A.R. Leak, along with other Black undertakers, was determined to change this situation five decades later. He famously remarked, “We can spend our money in white stores, buy white people’s merchandise and pay white people’s taxes, yet we cannot be buried with them.”
Chicago’s reputation for segregation extended beyond residential areas; cemeteries were also racially divided as far back as the Civil War era. Over time, and through persistent activism, various cemeteries in the region began to alter their exclusionary policies.
The issue of segregation in burial sites was highlighted even earlier by prominent figures such as John Jones, a prosperous tailor and abolitionist who, in 1864, published a pamphlet condemning the pervasive prejudice that prevented Black people from purchasing burial lots in Chicago. Despite laws not specifically prohibiting Black individuals from being buried in certain cemeteries, Jones asserted that societal prejudice “follows us to the grave.”
Following his passing in 1879, Jones was interred in Graceland Cemetery, which had been a notable location for both Black and white individuals, despite the surrounding neighborhoods being primarily white. Historians suggest that Graceland initially operated under more inclusive practices compared to other cemeteries of its time due to the abolitionist values of its founder.
However, many other burial grounds enforced strict racial restrictions. In the early 1900s, as the Black population in Chicago grew due to the Great Migration, new policies began to emerge prohibiting Black individuals from purchasing graves.
Cemeteries such as Mount Hope systematically advertised themselves as “exclusively for the white race,” which ignited outrage from the Black community, exemplified by the response from the Chicago Defender and prominent journalist Ida B. Wells.
In light of these injustices, some cemeteries began to cater specifically to the Black community, such as Mount Glenwood Cemetery, which declared it was the “only Chicago Cemetery whose Charter does not allow discrimination.”
Political action followed as well. In 1911, state Rep. Edward D. Green introduced a bill to prohibit cemeteries from charging Black people more than their white counterparts for gravesites, and the legislature passed the measure.
Despite legislative progress, racial barriers in cemeteries still existed, as demonstrated by the case of John B. Gaskill, who faced refusal from Forest Home Cemetery in 1912 to bury his wife because of their exclusionary “white race only” policy.
Gaskill’s court battle reached the Illinois Supreme Court, which upheld the discriminatory practice. Though it initially appeared as if no further recourse was available, Gaskill ultimately buried his wife in a nearby cemetery, a testament to the enduring struggle for dignity in death.
As the 1920s approached, Burr Oak Cemetery opened amidst violent threats from local white residents. Despite this, Burr Oak quickly became a significant burial site for the local Black community, famously hosting the remains of Emmett Till after his lynching in 1955.
Meanwhile, segregation also affected other ethnic groups. In 1949, the plight of Japanese Americans seeking burial sites for soldiers who had fought honorably in World War II garnered attention. Only a few cemeteries, most notably Montrose, permitted their burials.
Rev. Jutsuo Morikawa of the Japanese Mutual Aid Society highlighted the lack of acceptance in burial grounds and called for change in line with civil rights principles. The barriers embedded within Chicago’s cemeteries echoed urgent calls for social justice, notably after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against racially restrictive covenants in property.
In the early 1960s, Black undertaker Marshall Bynum sought to confront gravestone segregation within the city and found that only a handful of cemeteries were willing to accept Black individuals. Oak Woods, previously hostile towards the Black community, succumbed to pressure following the 1963 protest and eventually became integrated.
The first Black mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, among others, would find their final resting place at Oak Woods, transforming it into an emblem of progress for the African American community. Spencer Leak Jr., grandson of the Rev. A.R. Leak, acknowledges the shift, reflecting on his grandfather’s crucial role in this transformation.
The slow march towards equality in Chicago’s cemeteries culminated in legislative action in 2010 following a scandal at Burr Oak Cemetery where grave desecrations were uncovered. The Cemetery Protection Act was enacted, making it illegal for any cemetery to deny burial spaces based on race or other discriminatory criteria.
Through years of struggle, activism, and evolution, changes in the cemetery system of Chicago reveal deep-seated issues of race that were confronted through community actions from the late 19th century until today.
image source from：https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2025/06/04/prejudice-follows-us-to-the-grave-the-segregated-past-of-chicago-cemeteries
