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If These Stones Could Talk
A Community Conversation
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Cemeteries have stories to tell, voices to unearth— and lessons from the past we can draw upon to better shape the future. If These Stones Could Talk by Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills brings fresh light to a forgotten corner of American history.
The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville hosted an indepth conversation with Buck and Mills on September 24 in Lawrence Township, NJ. Their research into the records of a Black cemetery sheds light on crucial narratives that have been missing in conventional, historical accounts and highlights the legacy of slavery in New Jersey.
The Community Conversation, made possible by the Support New Jersey Fund, brought diverse voices together to inquire and inform. Pastor Emeritus of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, one of those voices, asked questions regarding the cultural significance of the book and the cemetery.
Buck and Mills, two middle aged African American women with busy yet quiet lives, were both board members of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association, a cemetery that is nestled in New Jersey’s Sourland Mountain region. The
L-R: Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills Rev. Dr. M. William Howard cemetery was purchased by three Black men in the early 19th century to bury Blacks with honor and dignity.
What began as a search through the woods for gravestone markers soon had them rummaging through land deeds and making relentless calls to state officials, archeologists, and reporters. Their foray into historic preservation work convinced Buck and Mills they had more work left to do to connect African American history to local and national history books—which they felt ignored the most visible narratives in United States history.
In warm but unflinching voices, authors Buck and Mills offer readers a unique window into the past. These stories, including dozens of oral histories, consecrate the collected lives of a minority Black community in a predominantly white region, a pattern of community that reflects a larger, deeply important but typically overlooked national story in small towns all over the United States. “These are the types of stories that everybody should know about, every history book should have them, every school should know,” said Beverly Mills. — Sources: TPC Staff, Amazon.com
