Dozens of volunteers gather at historic Oaklawn cemetery for cleanup project

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Local volunteers visited the historic Oaklawn cemetery Friday morning for a clean-up project.

And for some like Robert Battles Sr with the Black Heritage Council, this is personal.

“We just want to commend all the people who come out today, because in this cemetery here is my grandmother and my father. But there’s also the whole history of black Mobile. We got all kinds of professors and doctors and stuff over here in this community,” Robert Battle Sr. said.

This was all organized with help from the Veteran’s Memorial Recovery Team. And groups like the knights of Columbus, Proud to Serve, and Unity Fiber also helped out.

“We can see a change that’s happened. There are more flags, more flowers, more decorations, and memorials. So just coming out and helping with the history that’s out here,” Yantzee Hintz said.

And they all want to make sure it’s still here for future generations.

“I mean you got everything here from World War II two vets, Buffalo soldiers, Tuskegee airmen. I mean there’s a vast amount of history out here that is being forgotten that we need to remind people about,” Hintz said.

“It behooves us as the descendants to try and get this maintained so that we show the respect for the people who fought for us all of those years, and the veterans,” Battles Sr. said.

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