Bronx, N.Y., activists demand: ‘Bury racism at Woodlawn Cemetery’

Published Oct 14, 2010 10:15 PM

A spirited group of anti-racist activists confronted the managers of posh Woodlawn Cemetery in the northwest Bronx on Oct. 9. Loud chants of “Bury racism at Woodlawn Cemetery!” rang against the stone walls of the Woodlawn mansion inside the cemetery gates. Managers and security goons looked on nervously amidst the din of honking horns of passing motorists expressing support.

WW photo: Brenda Ryan

Protesters carried placards signed by the sponsoring groups — Freedom Party, South Bronx Community Congress, Service Employees Local 32BJ and Bail Out the People Movement — condemning the racist management. One placard said, “Fire Rob Scheer, stop the discrimination,” naming a racist boss cited for outrageous abuse by the Band of Brothers, a group of Woodlawn workers. One supervisor lost his job over the summer following a protest at the cemetery gates together with a relentless campaign of letters and publicity exposing the long history of racism at the cemetery.

The protest is part of a three-year campaign led by the Band of Brothers, cemetery workers who have appealed for community support against discrimination at Woodlawn. One placard reflected another part of their struggle: “Respect the workers — let them unionize,” pointing to the current effort to replace a corrupt, company union. The cemetery workers are scheduled to vote on Oct. 18 to change to Teamsters Local 808, led by Secretary-Treasurer Chris Silvera.

The Rev. Lydia Lebron, pastor of the Church of the Resurrection and a leader of the South Bronx Community Congress, said: “Why is it that such a sacred place, where our ancestors and our beloved ones are memorialized, is also such a hostile and abusive place where African-American and Latino men are dehumanized? How has it come to be that some of those who suffered and fought to end racism and discrimination, and lay here ... need to witness the harassment, the slurs, the epithets, the name calling, insults and intimidation?” She denounced the fact that African Americans and Latinos are systematically excluded from opportunities for advancement at the cemetery.

“A great number of entertainers, celebrities, politicians and business moguls are buried here,” the Rev. Lebron said. “Six New York City mayors, Herman Melville [author of “Moby Dick”], Joseph Pulitzer [of the Pulitzer Prize], Sara Walker [believed to be the first Black millionaire in the U.S.], W.C. Handy [“father of the blues”], Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Celia Cruz, Carmen Mantilla [José Martí’s partner].” She added that “the 400 acres of sacred land enclose the remains of hundreds of thousands of men and women, many from humble origins, many who worked hard and lived representing the best of their cultures and ethnic origins.”

Ramon Jimenez, another leader of the South Bronx Community Congress and Freedom Party candidate for New York State attorney general, said cemetery management’s racial discrimination is blatantly illegal and was the target of an in-depth investigation earlier this year. He praised the Band of Brothers for persisting in their fight and for finding ways to win the support of the entire cemetery workforce against management as well as against the corrupt company union that makes it possible for the abuses to continue.

Dee Knight, coordinator of the Labor-Community Forum of the South Bronx Community Congress, congratulated those white workers at Woodlawn Cemetery who supported the struggle against the racism of the Woodlawn management, calling it “a strategic breakthrough” that they joined their multinational brothers to vote for Teamsters Local 808. “For the longest time the bosses have tried to make you think you were just like them and you should think like them, and put down workers of color and side with the boss,” he said. “Now you’re seeing the light and refusing to be divided. Now you’ll get serious and honest union leadership, and the boss will have to learn some real respect.”

The Band of Brothers “have found the magic formula for defeating racist abuse on the job,” Knight said. “It’s really simple: Stand up, speak out and reach out. Don’t be afraid and don’t back down. Know you have community support and go for it. Look for good, strong, honest union representation. Go back to the other workers and explain again and again.”

Other speakers included Ed Figueroa of Service Employees Local 32BJ, who brought an impressive delegation to the rally. Gavrielle Gemma of the Bail Out the People Movement underscored the need for a union contract forbidding racist discrimination on the job. She denounced the fact that management has continuously moved to outsource jobs at the cemetery, reducing the regular full-time workforce from more than 100 employees a year ago to 38 today.

Protesters marched from the cemetery gates at East 233rd Street and Webster Avenue up the hill to the subway station at 233rd Street and White Plains Road, and then returned to the cemetery gates for a concluding rally. Gemma led participants in a pledge to continue the struggle until the racist practices at the cemetery are brought to an end.