‘A justice served’: Liberty memorial honors Black people buried in unmarked graves
Andrea Robins, John Vertreese and Janice Vertreese stood and took pictures of the names of their family members — their names unknown to everyone except them.
For more than a century, their three family members — along with hundreds, if not, thousands of other Black people — lay buried at Fairview Cemetery in Liberty in unmarked graves. Their contributions to the city remained unknown by many. Their histories were known only to a few.
But on Saturday, as part of Liberty’s Juneteenth celebration — as well as an effort to right a historical wrong — the Liberty African American Legacy Memorial was dedicated and unveiled to a crowd of around 200 people.
The memorial is a black stone engraved with the names of 761 Black people who have been confirmed to be buried in the the segregated sections of the cemetery.
It sits in the approximate spot where its believed that Missouri’s enslaved people started building Liberty after they were emancipated in 1865.
Until Saturday, the only physical reminders of the hundreds, or thousands, of Black people who are buried in the six-acre section were unmarked stones and other markers.
But many of the people who lie interred near and around the memorial have no such objects. It’s not known where exactly they lie.
Robins stood at the memorial taking photos of her three family members — Egbert Vertrease (great grandfather), George Vertrease (great-great grandfather) and Sarah Vertrease (great-great grandmother) — whose names are listed on the memorial.
She knows they are buried somewhere in the cemetery. Just not where.
“It’s fascinating and rewarding to see that the names have been added and recognized,” Robins said. “It’s kind of a justice served in that it didn’t happen that long ago.”
Shelton Ponder, a lifelong Liberty resident who says his family has been in the area for over 200 years, was also at the memorial’s unveiling. He said Saturday is important, not just for the people who are in attendance but for those who are not there — but who helped make Liberty what it is.
“Why is it important?” Ponder asked. “This is legacy we’re talking about. Why is the Lincoln Memorial important? Why is the Washington Monument important? Those are important to people and this is as important, and more so to us. Where we’re standing, it becomes, not only a very adorn place, but a place of bringing people together.”
Robins’ father and her aunt were also with her on Saturday. John Vertreese was disappointed when he was growing up and learned of the unmarked graves. He didn’t know where his family is. He still doesn’t. There’s no headstone. But now there’s memorial, where he sees their names.
He pointed out that the spelling of his family’s last name and of his last name is slightly different. At some point, the spelling changed.
“They are being recognized as being buried here before everybody that was buried here,” Vertreese said. “Having this recognizes them a lot.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2022 at 1:25 PM.
