State lawmakers join renewed push to take care of historic Greenwood Cemetery

LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Two state lawmakers have joined a renewed push to take care of an abandoned west Louisville cemetery.

Kentucky Sen. Gerald A. Neal, D-Louisville, and state Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, are calling for the continued maintenance of Greenwood Cemetery.

The cemetery was opened in 1903 for burial of African American residents but was shut down because of mismanagement. In the late 1980s, Jefferson Circuit Court issued an order to prevent problems related to burial practices, handing of human remains and fiscal prudence by the nonprofit that was responsible for the cemetery.

The cost for maintenance is high, the legislators said in a news release, and they have joined three court-authorized entities in their efforts to help maintain the cemetery. Those organizations are Dismas Charities, Friends of the Greenwood Cemetery and the National Association for Black Veterans.

Neal and Meeks will hold a news conference at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the cemetery entrance, at 40th Street and Hale Avenue.