Nantucket's Historic Coloured Cemetery: Stories Told by Nantucketers

Presented for free (with ticket) by the Dreamland. 

A new documentary film, Nantucket’s Historic Coloured Cemetery: Stories Told By Nantucketers, is set to illuminate the lives of Civil War veterans, fugitives, abolitionists, and whaling captains interred in one of the island’s most significant burial grounds. Produced by Nantucket historians Frances Karttunen and Barbara Ann White, the film seeks to share these stories with the wider public.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Paul G. Sanderson III of Our Town Films, the documentary, told as an oral history, delves into the lives of notable figures such as the Rev. James Crawford, a fugitive from slavery who became a long-serving pastor on the island, Arthur Cooper, who sought refuge for himself and his family on Nantucket after escaping slavery, and Lucinda Gordon Cooper, who was taken from Africa before the American Revolution and survived until after the American Civil War.  Through heartfelt storytelling, the film brings to life the experiences of these individuals and others, highlighting their resilience and contributions to Nantucket’s rich cultural tapestry.

The site dates to the late 1700s, when a surge of people, many of them formerly enslaved, established a community on the edge of town and began burying their dead on the south side of Mill Hill.

“This film is a tribute to the remarkable individuals who, despite facing immense challenges, left an indelible mark on our island’s history,” said Frances Karttunen. “By sharing their stories, we hope to honor their legacy and ensure that their contributions are remembered.”

Black cemeteries throughout the United States have been paved over, dug up or generally neglected. Karttunen and White received funding to make a film as a way to use Nantucket’s well-preserved historic burial ground to acquaint the public with Nantucket’s Black history.

Both White and Karttunen, Nantucket Cemetery Commissioners and affiliates of the Black Cemetery Network, wrote the film’s script, which is narrated by 22 islanders, 21 of whom are Black or people of color, and range in age from 10 to 90 years old.

 “I think it’s important that we don’t lose who we are and when and where we’ve been,” said Venessa Raab Moore, a multi-generational Black and Cape Verdean islander. “This film is continuing the education purposes that our community needs, so that we’re not forgotten.

The film is a project of the Town of Nantucket Cemetery Commission and was funded by the Nantucket Offshore Wind Fund through the Community Foundation for Nantucket.