One woman was a beloved mother and friend. One young man fought in the
Spanish-American War.
One gray block that has no date reads simply: ``Tom Miller, Ann, his wife.''

What they all hold in common is a history of discrimination -- and neglect.

``This is a really pathetic thing to have it look like this,'' said " _________"
standing on the piece of land that until the 1950s was the only place
in Fayette where black families could bury their dead.

The rocky, weed-infested acre lies in sharp contrast to the grassy expanse of
the adjacent Fayette City cemetery, where many of the town's white citizens --
and after desegregation became illegal -- some blacks have been buried.
The neglect of the old black cemetery has frustrated a number of Fayette's
black residents, including _______ who has family buried there. For years, he
has come regularly to clean up the area. Now, he wants someone else to take
over.
So far, no one wants to take on the responsibility.
``The city has no connection to it,'' Fayette mayor ________ said.
That's true, _____said. No one knows for sure how the black community got
the land. No money was ever set aside to maintain it.
Grave sites in the neighboring Fayette City Cemetery, which despite its name
is a private graveyard, are maintained by the money used to purchase the
plots. The maintenance is overseen by the Fayette City Cemetery Association.

``That black part isn't in the association. It never has been,'' said _________, who digs graves for the Fayette City Cemetery.
_________ said the cemetery association is made up of aging members who have
discussed taking over and maintaining the old black cemetery. He didn't know
if a decision had been made.
___________is a member of the cemetery association. Asked why the area had
been overlooked by the association, he said, ``I can't tell you.'' No other members could be reached for comment.

__________,another black resident of Fayette, became interested in the
cemetery after she heard Turner's pleas for donations at her church.
``It's always kind of bothered me why that little spot of ground couldn't be
maintained by the association,'' she said. Last June, she contacted _________ member of the cemetery association________________. She asked him
to tell her the history of the cemetery and why it had been neglected. She
said he promised to have someone get back to her. She is still waiting.

She,________wrote a grant proposal last year that brought $1,500 from the ______________to help with the cemetery. _________ hopes the money can be
used to bring in dirt to level out the ground, fill in wet spots -- one grave
sits on a soggy patch of ground at the bottom of the hill -- and plant grass.
But the money won't pay for the mowing ........................................

The 60-year-old knows many of the people buried there, including his
great-grandmother, who helped raise him and his sister. ``I thought the world
had come to an end when ___________ died,'' he said.
..........................................................................................

He, ____________offered one thought about the friends and family he sees regularly as he rides his mower around the grave sites.
``I don't know why you have to be discriminated against even when you die.''

On April 26, 1997 the Tribune ran the story above.
Parts have been edited and removed, and the remainder used as educational, informational and under the fair use rule.