Yes, Children. Ghouls Really Exist and Reside in Chicago

Burr Oaks Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois has a special place in history for many African-American Chicagoans. For decades, it was the only cemetery that accepted our dead loved ones, and almost everyone I know has family buried out there, including my own. Emmett Till, one of the catalysts of the Civil Rights movement is buried out there. But a place of haven for so many black families became a nightmare when more than 300 human bodies were removed from their graves and the plots resold in an elaborate scheme that that lasted for four years.

On July 9, 2009, four individuals were charged with one count of dismembering a human body, a class X felony. The ghouls or suspects, all of whom are black, have been identified as Carolyn Towns, 49, Keith Nicks, 45, and Terrence Nicks, 39, and Maurice Dailey, 59. Bond was set at $250,000 for Towns, who happened to be the cemetery's ex-manager, and at $200,000 for the other three. However, on July 24, 2009, Maurice Dailey was set free after his wife posted $20,000 cash.

Towns is also alleged to have pocketed donations she elicited for an Emmett Till memorial museum. However, she has not been charged in connection with those allegations. Court documents show she was fired from the cemetery in late May amid allegations of financial wrongdoing.

This is such a sad tale of greed, ignorance, and a disdain for humanity. So many families have converged upon Burr Oaks Cemetery only to find misplaced graves and dysfunction. Babyland, an area in the cemetery where children and babies were buried have gone missing and parents have to mourn the loss of so many young lives again. Those 300 bodies were someone's loved ones and it is a shame that these ghouls were so money hungry.

Poor record keeping have stymied the efforts of Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart and other officials from seeing how many families were affected by this tragedy. The really ironic part about this whole situation is that this scheme only cooked up $300,000. $300,000, not $300,0000,000 is the payment these individuals received to dig up graves, dump the helpless bodies into a mass grave, and leave headstones and scattered bones all over the place along with the original casket of Emmett Till, which was found rusting and surrounded by garbage and possums in a tool shed on the edge of the cemetery.

This is what happens when we do not teach African-American children about their culture. They grow into warped adults with no concept or respect for African-American history. Up until recently, I was very ignorant about my heritage. The only Black history that was taught to me was during Black History Month. Even then, I only learned a part, not the whole. According to some of my grade and high school history textbooks, my people were nothing more than savages whose only contributions to the world were farming and slaves.

Only when I made the decision to attend college did I learn about the rich and interesting history that is my cultural birthright. Stories of women such as Ellen Craft, a slave who disguised herself as a white male while her husband pretended to be her servant in order to escape the chains of bondage. I was like a kid in a candy store. I had so much information and so little time to learn everything that was hidden from me. I immediately became angry. Angry at the school system that had bamboozled me and so many other generations of back children. Angry at myself not seeking my heritage sooner. But this anger was a good thing. I would never allow myself to be this ignorant again and I would make sure that my own children would know about their heritage, with or without the school’s help.

However, there are many in the African-American community who are unaware of their heritage, other than what is shown on television. There are some who actually believe those stereotypes about Africans swinging in trees when the slave boats came and that is so disheartening. The most tragic consequence of this mentality is that many African-American children are growing up today complacently ignorant about their heritage, not caring about anything other the latest pair of gym shoes and the latest CD.

According to African-American historian John Henrik Clarke, in order to control a people, you must first control what they think about themselves and how they regard their history and culture. And when they feel ashamed of their culture and their history, prison chains are not necessary.

That is so true. Many generations of African Americans have been poisoned with self-hatred as a result of ignorance about African-American history. Some of us have forgotten about the blood, sweat, and tears of Africans who were brought to this country against their will and whose blood still run deeply in our veins.
That is why it is so important to know one’s heritage. We have to break the cycle of complacent ignorance when it comes to our historical past. We know that the school system is not going to teach our children about their heritage. We cannot let another generation of African-American children suffer from cultural degradation. In our veins, flow the blood of kings and queens who fought and died for their beliefs and who would be saddened by the state of their descendants who have forgotten where they come from and would sell out their brother’s ancestors for $300,000.