The DRONE Project
Thousands of Americans of color's names and life stories are being lost or left unfinished due to being buried in dilapidated and overrun cemeteries and burial grounds across the United States. Many of these cemeteries and burial grounds have either very little or no documentation to account for those interred. This information is key to telling the complete life story of these Americans. The damaging effects of weather and unabated terrain make this work urgent to prevent further loss.
Our Work
This project began using drones solely equipped with high quality cameras and quickly realized that the obstacles many of these lost and abandoned burial grounds. The beta test of this project revealed the fact that additional advanced technology would be required to fulfill the mission. In 2022, we will acquire a drone equipped with LiDAR and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to find and publicize these forgotten resting places. The pictures and video will be used to create online virtual tours for the public.
Images from our beta test conducted in 2019. The final resting place of many BIPOC Americans are being lost in the trees of active cemeteries. These spaces need to be documented before they are completely lost.
Please contact us to volunteer or submit names and locations of cemeteries and burial grounds that meet the criteria.