AUSTIN, Texas — For Sue Spears, the president of the Bethany Cemetery Association of Travis County, every headstone tells a story.
“When space was no longer available for Blacks to be buried in Oakwood, then Bethany became a reality,” Spears said. “We have people that were enslaved that lived through slavery and emancipation. We have Civil War soldiers.”
As East Austin gentrifies, Spears is feeling an urgency to step up preservation efforts.
In the past, the cemetery has faced the threat of being taken over by a development company. While the development will still get built, developers did make an agreement with the Bethany Cemetery Association to not interfere with it.
Still, there is work to be done.
“Many times, we have come out to, you know, broken headstones,” Spears said. “We even have had some satanic rituals that have gone on here.”
Keith Crippen helps with conservation work at the cemetery.
“In death, people need the respect they didn’t get during their life. You know? And it was really sad to see this place looking so run-down,” Crippen said.
To help people better understand the significance of Bethany Cemetery, Spears says they are working on getting more signs outlining the history and offering tour groups where people can learn more.
“They endured so much in their lifetime and they lay the foundation to what we enjoy today,” Spears said.
It is keeping a part of Austin’s story alive in a changing city.