Partnership aims to secure future of historic Black cemetery

Preserving the historic United Colored American Cemetery has challenged Union Baptist Church for decades. The church now hopes a new partnership with Fifth Third Bank will help reverse years of deterioration at the Madisonville burial ground and provide long-term support for its upkeep.

Under the partnership announced Thursday, Fifth Third will contribute $50,000 to the cemetery’s preservation endowment and match donations up to $200,000 over the next three years. The bank also will continue restoration work at the historic site.

The 11.4-acre cemetery contains more than 12,000 graves, including those of formerly enslaved people, Underground Railroad participants, veterans and generations of Black Cincinnati leaders. The United Colored American Association established the cemetery in 1844, and Union Baptist Church has owned and maintained the site since 1968.

Maintaining a cemetery of that size requires ongoing groundskeeping, restoration work and efforts to protect graves and historic features. Limited funding and technical support have made that work difficult over the years, contributing to periods of neglect and disrepair.

“This ground holds more than history – it holds the story of a people who refused to let their legacy be erased. We are proud to partner with Union Baptist Church to restore and beautify this historic cemetery,” said Kala Gibson, chief corporate responsibility officer for Fifth Third.

A shared commitment to community

The partnership builds on restoration work that Fifth Third and Union Baptist Church completed this spring. The organizations cleared brush along the cemetery’s southern boundary on Duck Creek Road, reestablished a pedestrian sidewalk and installed a new perimeter fence and gates. Fifth Third’s Madisonville Operations Building sits across the street from the cemetery.

The effort also complements a $750,000 National Park Service grant awarded to the Union Foundation for United Colored American Cemetery, a nonprofit that supports the ministries of Union Baptist Church and helps fund restoration work at the cemetery.

Officials unveiled a historical marker Thursday recognizing the cemetery’s significance in Cincinnati and American history. They plan to install the marker at the cemetery at a later date.

“This is a shared commitment to make sure the cemetery is not only protected, but renewed,” Gibson said.