The Town of Chapel Hill has removed a marker honoring 361 slaves and free people of color buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

The marker was removed only weeks after installation when residents and UNC students complained about the marker’s wording.

The granite marker read, “Here Rest in Honored Glory 361 American Persons of Color Known But to God” in language modeled after the description on the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at Arlington National Cemetery.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said the marker was installed before the public was able to weigh in.

“We didn’t have that normal opportunity to have public input from the community. We usually do that through a [town] council meeting and welcome people to come and give input,” said Hemminger.

The Old Chapel Hill Cemetery is home to hundreds of unmarked graves that have only recently been detected.

The marker was installed without any fanfare on February 4th.

“It had just been installed a couple of weeks before and there was no ceremony or dedication,” said Hemminger.

The marker was approved at the December meeting of the Cemetery Advisory Board. According to Chapel Hill Town Council Member Maria Palmer, the marker cost $1,875 to order and install.

In a letter to the town’s cemetery board and the local NAACP, Palmer said she was at fault for the marker being installed without a ceremony. Palmer said she had voted to approve the marker but failed to follow through on organizing a dedication ceremony.

Even though much of the public’s response has been critical of the town’s actions, Hemminger said she is pleased with the amount of interest.

“I love that people care so much. People care enough to want to honor the souls that are buried there and wanted to do something to commemorate that,” said Hemminger, “and then other people in the community care so much about what exactly it is we are commemorating and that we describe it in a way that does honor, rather than just describe and uses language and input from the community to do so.”

Hemminger said the marker will be placed back in the cemetery after a public input period and a dedication ceremony can be organized.

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