Atlanta Cemetery Network offers glimpse into city’s history

“Tour the Rest haven of Atlanta’s African-American Civil Rights Pioneers” 

Atlanta is known for being the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the epicenter of southern culture. Atlanta is also the home of the oldest African-American cemetery in Georgia, South-View Cemetery. 

South-View Cemetery is often called “The African-American City of the Dead.” Established in 1889 by Jacob McKinley, George W. Graham, Robert Grant, Charles H. Morgan, John Render, and Albert Watts. Each desires to bury their family and community with dignity and grace. 

African-Americans’ traditions and customs for caring for the dead goes back centuries far beyond the enslavement of Africans in the New World. The care and pride in the details of each homegoing service can be seen on any given day at South-View Cemetery and Lincoln Cemetery (founded in 1925).