Forgotten Children: Unearthing the Lives Behind the Lost Burial Sites of Incarcerated Youth
Rediscovering the Lost Burial Grounds of Incarcerated Youth
This initiative is dedicated to honoring the memory of incarcerated youth buried in abandoned and lost burial grounds throughout the United States. The work was inspired by the discovery of nearly 250 incarcerated Black children who died at the Maryland House of Reformation & Instruction for Colored Children and were buried nearby between 1877-1939, most of whom were placed in unmarked graves.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions to the efforts to research, uncover and highlight the House of Reformation burial ground in Maryland:
- Children and parents from DJS’ Roots 2 Rise initiative
- Rosie Clark, volunteer cemetery and genealogy researcher
- Crystal Foretia, former Policy & Legislative Administrator and Govern for America (GFA) Fellow at Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services (DJS)
- Dr. Erin Kimmerle, University of South Florida
- Meredith Konrad, volunteer researcher
- Malissa Ruffner, genealogist
- Vinny Schiraldi, former DJS Secretary
- Tyrone Walker, Georgetown Prisons & Justice Initiative
- Claude Waters, former DJS employee
Interested in Supporting the Initiative?
Read More About the Launch in The Washington Post
