Civil Rights Groups To Protest Move Of Jonesboro, GA Cemetery

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) - Civil rights activists plan a march Tuesday night to protest the transfer of a grave site they believe includes the resting place of former slaves.

County and state chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will join other activists in front of the Historic Clayton County Courthouse, in Jonesboro, at 6 p.m.

NAACP officials have battled the Clayton County Board of Commissioners over a decision to let a rock-and-recycling landfill transfer the historic Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery, near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The graves, which sit on landfill property, would be moved to Carver Memorial Gardens, on Upper Riverdale Road.

Protestors say county commissioners have gotten campaign donations from John D. Stephens, the landfill’s owner.