With Memphis and the Black struggle for equal representation in Tennessee in the news right now, the story of Collins Chapel CME is relevant and important to hear. The city has a complicated history when it comes to race relations. As the oldest, continuously operated African American church in Memphis, this congregation has seen everything, from slavery to the Civil Rights movement. But one of its most tragic chapters is also one of the least mentioned: the 1866 Memphis Mass

Stepping into the historic Greenwood Cemetery in Nashville was unlike my experiences in other cemeteries. I’ve been to historic graveyards that had extraordinary monuments, and those that are so old that simple stones are the only markers left. Greenwood is not ostentatious, although there are some beautiful headstones, nor is it solely markers, but I believe it may be one of the most complex cemeteries I’ve ever been to.