Mt. Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemeteries Commemorated on 215th Anniversary
By • February 21, 2023 2 1250
At-large Council member Anita Bonds and others participated in a program hosted by Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Historic Memorial Park, Inc. on Feb. 20. The commemoration linked Washington D.C.’s Black history to former presidents and residents of Georgetown.
The event, “President’s Day in Black Georgetown,” highlighted the ties to the Underground Railroad and a few of the many connections to the first presidential family — President George Washington and first lady Martha Washington. At this event, Bonds presented a resolution honoring the cemetery on its 215th anniversary.
“The Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery is a vital chapter in our nation’s history,” Bonds said. “It is a powerful illustration of resilience, community and a pathway to freedom.”
“I am confident in my faith that this gesture [the District Council ceremonial resolution] is proof that we will no longer be neglected,” said Lisa Fager, executive director of the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Historic Park Foundation, also known as the Black Georgetown Foundation.
The cemetery has strong linkages to the District’s slave history and provides physical reminders of how racial inequities follow people from life to death. Additionally, in 1975, the Joint Committee on Landmarks designated the cemetery a Category II Landmark of Importance that contributes to the cultural and visual beauty of the District. Also, in 2018, the United Nations designated it a UNESCO site of memory associated with the slave route project.
The ceremony, with libations and naming of ancestors, was led by Nana Malaya Rucker, and the historical foot tours of the cemetery were provided by Fager.
Visit BlackGeorgetown.com for more information.
The Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery ceremony on Feb. 20. Photo by Bill Starrels.
Libations ceremony leader Nana Malaya Rucker (wearing long scarf) and others listen to Lisa Fager, executive director of the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Historic Park Foundation. Photo by Bill Starrels.
Photo by Bill Starrels.
Educator and former Georgetown advisory neighborhood commissioner Monica Roache. Photo by Bill Starrels.
Beautiful!
My 3rd great grandmother Melinda Hawkins, my 2nd great grandmother Martha Hawkins and her brother Charles Hawkins, and my grandmother Bessie Gaines are buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery.