Washington, DC -

M E D I A   A D V I S O R Y

MEDIA CONTACT:
STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029

Congressman Clay to Lead Community Day of Service to
Clean Up and Restore Historic Greenwood Cemetery, Saturday, May 16th
 
WHO:
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri
Etta Daniels, Friends of Greenwood Cemetery
Lynn Jackson, Dred Scott Heritage Foundation
Bob Clark, President & CEO, CLAYCO
Marvin Steele, Sr., President, Urban Solutions
St. Louis County Parks & Recreation
Austin Layne Mortuary
AmerenUE

WHAT: LIVE MEDIA EVENT:   SATURDAY, MAY 16. 2009

NEWS EVENT AT 11AM 
(UNVEILING OF HARRIET SCOTT MONUMENT)

VOLUNTEER CLEAN UP ONGOING 8AM – 12 NOON

SITE:   GREENWOOD CEMETERY,
6571 ST. LOUIS AVENUE,
HILLSDALE, MO  63121

STORY:

Congressman Clay will lead a Community Day of Service with volunteers to cleanup and restore historic Greenwood Cemetery, the resting place of Harriet Scott, and over 50,000 African Americans.  Greenwood, which opened in 1878 as St. Louis’ first designated Black cemetery, has fallen into disrepair.  Besides Harriet Scott, Greenwood is the final resting place of freed slaves, Colored Troopers from the Civil War, Buffalo Soldiers, veterans from WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, and many leading African American citizens.

The Friends of Greenwood Cemetery are lovingly reclaiming and restoring this treasure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Congressman Clay has assembled a team of volunteers and community resources to help the Friends of Greenwood with their efforts.   Special support and technical assistance will be provided by CLAYCO, Urban Solutions, Austin Layne Mortuary, St. Louis Count Parks & Recreation and AmerenUE.

To join the Community Day of Service,
volunteers should call
(314) 772-7466.

First-person statement from Congressman Clay in support of this Community Day of Service:"Greenwood Cemetery is an undiscovered African American history treasure that we are coming together to restore and reclaim.  I'm honored to help the Friends of Greenwood with this Community Day of Service, and I hope everyone will join us to clear brush and clean up the site.  We will also unveil a monument to a true civil rights hero, Harriet Scott.  So I invite the community to join us on Saturday.  To volunteer, please call the Friends of Greenwood Cemetery at 772-7466.”
 
Your reporters and camera crews are invited to attend.If you require additional information, please give us a call.