Historic Mount Nebo African Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery near Upper Marlboro, MD, dates from the second half of the 19th century, with the earliest burial documented in 1859. Nearly one-half acre and located adjacent to and north of the historic church, this plot of land was the eternal resting place for local Blacks at the time since Jim Crow laws prohibited their burial in public cemeteries.

One hundred sixty-five years later, a family gathered.

Barbara Jo stood at the ready with two bouquets.

Charlene talked on her cell phone with the employee of the ornament company, giving driving instructions. The site was isolated, tucked away on a hill.
Craig removed the wooden cross he had made to mark the space temporarily. He held it close, symbolizing a family's love and resolve.

George raked away a remnant of last fall's leaves from the area. 

Carla was there too, content to be away from the details of TV broadcasting. That day, nature determined the lighting by sunlight flickering through the leaves of the trees. Sounds were natural: birds fluttering overhead, soft wind blowing, and quiet conversations among the small crowd of observers. The colors were spring hues. Multi-colored wildflowers were interspersed among abundant greens.

Members of the Savoy-Reed family had gathered at the historic church cemetery to oversee the installation of a marker at their mother's grave, Constance V. Savoy Reed (1929-1969). It was a dream come true, an accomplishment, but not without challenges. Once installed, Barbara Jo lovingly placed one of the floral bouquets at her mother's grave.

When she died, Constance was the mother of seven. She loved playing the guitar, a fact that her family memorialized with an etching on her headstone.

One of fifteen children born to Maude Savoy-Brown (Big Mama) and William Thomas Savoy, Constance, and two of her siblings, Walter (double bass) and Winnie (piano), became expert musicians. They accompanied the famous Mt. Nebo Gospel Singers, a vocal group of Savoy-Brown children and grandchildren, founded by "Big Mama" in 1949.  

Inscribed headstones and iron crosses identify only a fraction of the nearly 250 bodies believed to have been interred there.  One of those headstones, topped with a delicately carved angel, has become the historic Mt. Nebo Church cemetery icon. Admired by all but mysterious to many until that day, the angel marks the grave of Cynthia (Cindy) Lee Reed, one of Constance Reed's daughters, who died in 1967 at age six. In her memory, the family placed the second floral tribute on her tombstone.

In 2021, Friends of Historic Mt. Nebo Preservation Corporation (FOHMN) contracted Dr. Tim Horsley to conduct a high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey to provide a map of the graves' locations and assist in the future management and interpretation of this historic cemetery.

The Reed family descendants who have loved ones buried at Mt. Nebo Church cemetery recognize the value of celebrating their ancestors and respecting the burial grounds where their remains lay. Although the internment ended in 1984, the cemetery is still a significant part of our lives, and Black history and demonstrates that Black lives matter even in death.