So As Not to Forget...

In February 2020, Alexandria Chapel embarked on a major cemetery project with Planning and Growth Management (PGM) of Charles County, Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites, Southern Maryland Studies Center, Charles County Archaeological Society, and the African American Heritage Society of Charles County to form a Task Force entitled “So As Not to Forget.” The purpose of this task force was to identify and map all unmarked graves at Alexandria Chapel’s cemetery, and to honor those early family and community members buried there. Some of the graves date back to the 1800’s. We had our first face-to-face meeting and then the pandemic hit.
This did not stop us, but allowed us to think outside of the box and engage in virtual meetings. So, in October 2020, the task force met at the cemetery to begin our project of mapping and marking all unmarked graves. In the meantime, as the research team (PGM) continued their research of the cemetery, it was agreed that crosses for those unmarked graves would be made by Alexandria members.

At that time, there were 113 unmarked graves identified by the research team and 113 crosses made by the church members. Those crosses were completed in September 2021 and installed on October 16, 2021. We had a total of twenty volunteers on that day consisting of church members, family members,
friends, and the Task Force Team -- this was Phase II. Phase III of the project is to erect a memorial giving a historical overview and to honor those laid to rest there -- especially former slave descendants of current members whose gravesites are unmarked and/or unknown. God has truly blessed us with a number of donations for this project and we are eternally thankful to all who have and continue to support us on this project.