Drawing Attention to a Neglected Landmark

Sometimes the smallest things can lead to the biggest things. Remember my drawing class's field trip to the laundromat? While there, we ran into Dr. Ken Alston, retired professor, who works with the Legacy of African American Schools, and had recently moved back to Rock Hill. He had given a talk about Rock Hill history at the university a few weeks earlier. We got to talking and he asked if my class was, by chance, planning to draw any cemeteries.
     As a matter of fact, yes!
     Drawing gravestones is an excellent way to practice drawing one and two-point perspective. So I normally take my classes to a cemetery in walking distance to the University at some point during the semester. But Dr. Alston told me about an old neglected Black cemetery not much farther away. Some important people from Rock Hill history were buried there, but it had been left to fall apart after its last buriel in the 1950s (when another cemetery became the preferred destination). Dr. Alston has been working to repair the cemetery and help it receive an historical marker as the landmark it is.
     I love when school projects can gain legs and do good in the community, so I checked it out. There was some beautiful old statuary and it was evident that many of the families buries there were well off and represented important stories to the community.
     So we headed out to draw...      What I couldn't have figured is that the head of the Rock Hill Historical Society would join us (along with her son). They would like to use some of the student's drawings to help build a case for the historical marker.      Soon after, a reporter with Comporium also showed up to take photos and interview us about the project. (I'll share once the broadcast goes live.) We were literally drawing attention to an important community need.
     Meanwhile, students were able to spend a lovely time fine-tuning their craft and reflecting on stories of those buried in the cemetery.
     Here are some of their works-in-progress...


On the last day, it got so hot by the end of class, students were cooling off in the shade, not getting any work done anyhow; so I suggested we stop for ice cream on the way back to the university. All good!

UPDATE!!! Here is the news story from CN2!