Best Volunteer Cleanup Crews Saving Forgotten African American Burial Grounds in the Carolinas

headstone cleaning in North Carolina | headstone cleaning in Charlotte North Carolina

I’ll never forget the first time I walked into Sweet Gum Grove Cemetary, just outside of Sumter, South Carolina, it was a hot July morning, and the ground was so dry it cracked under my boots. I was there to photograph a headstone for a client tracing her great-great-grandmother, but what I found stopped me cold. Headstones were toppled like dominoes, vines covered everything, and a few markers were so buried in red clay that only the top two inches of granite poked through. One stone, a simple hand-carved slab for a man named Ezekiel Brown, dated 1889, was split clean in two. I knelt down, cleared the dirt with my bare hands, and read his name. That moment hooked me. I realized these aren't just stones—they're the only proof left that someone lived, worked, and mattered. And they're disappearing fast.

That's when I started digging into volunteer crews doing the real work in the Carolinas. Not the big nonprofits with grant money and PR teams. I mean the weekend warriors, the church groups, the history nerds with spray bottles and soft brushes. They're the ones keeping African American burial grounds from being swallowed by kudzu and forgotten by time. If you're in the Carolinas and want to help, or need a crew for a cemetery you care about, here's what I've learned from tagging along with the best of them.

Who's Doing the Work Right Now: Three Crews I Trust

Let's start with names. I've worked alongside or interviewed folks from these groups, and they know their stuff.

First up: The Gullah Geechee Cemetery Keepers based in St. Helena Island, South Carolina. They focus on coastal burial grounds where enslaved and freed Gullah Geechee families are buried. They don't just clean stones—they map graves using ground-penetrating radar and teach local kids how to ID fieldstones and shell markers. One leader, Miss Loretta, told me, 'We ain't cleaning for tourists. We're cleaning for ancestors.' Hard to argue with that.

Second: The Sandhills Preservation Project in Southern Pines, North Carolina. They're a small group—maybe a dozen regulars—but they've restored over 200 headstones in two years at the Old Bethesda Cemetery. They use D/2 Biological Solution, which is the gold standard for cleaning marble and granite without etching it. I've seen them turn a blackened, lichen-covered slab into a readable stone in under an hour, and they never hurry. They work in pairs: one sprays, one brushes gently with a soft nylon bristle brush. No wire, no metal, no harsh chemicals.

Third: The Carolina African American Heritage Foundation (CAAHF) in Columbia, SC. They coordinate larger cleanups and have a mobile tool trailer with buckets, soft brushes, and pH-neutral cleaner. They also do documentation—every stone gets photographed and it's GPS coordinates logged. They've trained over 300 volunteers in the last five years. I went to one of their workshops, and the first thing they said was, 'If you brought bleach from home, leave it in your car.' Smart move.

What You Need to Bring (and What to Leave at Home)

Here's the honest truth: most people show up to a cleanup with a wire brush and a bottle of bleach. Big mistake. That combo can destroy a 150-year-old marble stone in minutes. I've seen it happen. The bleach eats into the stone's surface, and the wire brush scratches permanent grooves. Never again.

So here's my standard pack list:

• A spray bottle filled with water. Plain tap water is fine for a first rinse.
• D/2 Biological Solution. You can buy it online or from some monument companies. It's non-ionic, pH-neutral, and kills biological growth (moss, lichen, algae) without damaging the stone. I buy it by the gallon. Costs about $40, but it lasts for dozens of stones.
• Soft nylon bristle brushes (not scrub brushes with stiff plastic). I use a 2-inch wide brush for flat surfaces and a smaller toothbrush-sized one for carved letters. Never use metal, never use steel wool.
• Wooden or plastic scrapers for caked-on dirt. A flat paint stirrer works great. Metal putty knives? No way.
• Buckets for rinse water. Change it often—dirty water can grind dirt back into the stone.
• Gloves and eye protection. D/2 is safe, but you don't want it in your eyes. And some stones have sharp edges.

What to leave behind: bleach, ammonia, vinegar, any acid, wire brushes, pressure washers (they blast away the stone's surface), and anything abrasive like sandpaper or scouring pads. If you wouldn't use it on your own kitchen counter, don't use it on a headstone.

Step-by-Step: How We Clean a Headstone Without Ruining It

I've done this maybe a hundred times now. Here's the exact proccess I use, and it's what the best crews teach:

1. Assess the stone first. Is it cracked, flaking, or delaminating? If yes, don't clean it—just document it. You can break a fragile stone by scrubbing. Call a professional conservator instead.

2. Wet the stone thoroughly with plain water. This loosens surface dirt and prevents the cleaner from drying too fast.

3. Apply D/2 Biological Solution from the bottom up. Why bottom up? If you start at the top, the cleaner drips down and you miss the lower spots. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Not more—if it dries, it leaves residue.

4. Scrub gently in circular motions with a soft nylon brush. Don't press hard. Let the cleaner do the work. Focus on carved letters and symbols. I always scrub with the grain of the stone if I can see it.

5. Rinse thoroughly with clean water. Use a spray bottle or a bucket with a soft sponge. Change rinse water every few stones. If you see suds still on the stone, rinse again.

6. Let it air dry. Don't wipe it with a towel—that can leave lint or scratch the surface. Come back in an hour to see if any biological spots remain. If they do, reapply D/2 and repeat.

7. Document everything. Take a before and after photo. Write down the name, date, and GPS coordinates. Many crews upload this to Find a Grave or the African American Cemetery Project database. This is how we keep these people remembered.

How to Find a Forgotten Burial Ground Near You

You don't have to wait for an organized cleanup. There are hundreds of abandoned African American cemeteries in the Carolinas that aren't on Google Maps. Here's how I find them:

• Check old Sanborn fire insurance maps (available online through the Library of Congress). They often show 'colored cemetery' plots in rural areas.
• Ask at local historical societies or county library archives. The librarians know. I found a whole cemetery behind a Piggly Wiggly in Florence, SC because an archivist mentioned it in passing.
• Look for clusters of fieldstones in wooded areas near old plantation sites. Enslaved families often marked graves with unshaped rocks. If you see a clearing with stones in rough rows, that's likely a burial ground.
• Talk to elderly residents at churches. I've knocked on doors and asked, 'Do you know where the old cemetery is?' Every time, someone's grandmother knows exactly where.

Once you find one, don't just start cleaning. Check with the local township or church that owns the land—if anyone does. Some sites are on private property, and you need permission. I once got yelled at by a farmer who thought I was digging for treasure. Not my finest moment.

The Hard Truth: Preservation Takes More Than a Clean Stone

Cleaning a headstone feels good. You see resultes in an hour. But the real work is invisible. Gravestones sink over time. Roots push them over. Acid rain wears them down. The best volunteer crews do three things beyond cleaning:

• Reset leaning stones using a sand-and-gravel mix, never concrete. Concrete traps moisture and causes cracks. I learned that the hard way after helping reset a stone that cracked within two years.
• Document burials by recording names, dates, and inscriptions. Many African American graves were never recorded in official records. This data helps families find ancestors.
• Advocate for legal protection. In South Carolina, abandoned cemeteries aren't automatically protected. Crews like CAAHF work with county councils to get historic designations. That stops developers from bulldozing them.

I've stood in cemeteries where the ground is so overgrown you can't see the next stone. It's overwhelming. But every stone cleaned, every name recorded, is a small victory. One volunteer told me, 'We're not saving stones. We're saving stories.' That stuck with me.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use Dawn dish soap to clean a headstone if I don't have D/2?

A: Short answer: no. Dawn is a detergent, not a pH-neutral cleaner. It leaves a residue that can attract more dirt and biological growth. Plus, it's not designed for porous stone. If you absolutely have to clean something and have no D/2, use plain water and a soft brush. That's safer than any soap. Order D/2 online and wait—it's worth it.

Q: How do I know if a headstone is marble, granite, or sandstone?

A: Here's a quick test: put a drop of water on the stone. If it soaks in fast (within 10 seconds), it's likely sandstone or limestone—very porous and fragile. If it beads up or takes a minute to soak, it's granite or marble. Marble will feel smooth and cool, and you'll see veins or crystals. Granite looks speckled. Sandstone feels rough and grainy. Never use D/2 on sandstone without testing it on a small spot first—sandstone can be too soft and may erode.

Q: What should I do if I find a broken headstone in an African American cemetery?

A: Don't try to glue it yourself. Epoxy and superglue can damage the stone and aren't reversible. Instead, take photos from multiple angles, measure the pieces, and note the location. Contact a professional conservator through the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) or reach out to the Carolina African American Heritage Foundation—they have a list of trained restorers. In the meantime, mark the area with flags so no one steps on the pieces.

Q: Are there any grants or funding for volunteer groups cleaning these cemeteries?

A: Yes, but it takes legwork. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has a 'Preserving African American Cemeteries' grant program that gives up to $5,000. The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission also offers small grants for documentation projects. North Carolina has the 'Cemetery Preservation License Plate' fund that distributes money to local groups. The trick is to form a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or partner with an existing one—most grants won't give to individuals.

Q: Is it safe to clean headstones in a cemetery that might have hazardous debris like broken glass or poison ivy?

A: Safety first. I always wear thick leather gloves, long pants, and sturdy boots. Poison ivy is common in overgrown sites—learn to ID it. Bring a first aid kit with tweezers for ticks. Check for snakes before reaching into tall grass. And never work alone. I always bring a buddy, partly for safety and partly because it's more fun. If the site has obvious hazardous waste (like old paint cans or needles), don't touch it—call the local health department or code enforcement.