Applied Anthropology: Dr. Elgin Klugh & the Laurel Memorial Cemetery Project

Dr. Elgin Klugh (Source: Coppin State University)

 

Dr. Elgin Klugh did not intend on pursuing anthropology when he was an undergraduate student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.  It was from a twist of fate that he enrolled in a cultural anthropology at sister institution Spelman College, which launched his subsequent career in applied anthropology.  This blog post will delve more deeply into Dr. Elgin Klugh’s applied anthropological work as it relates to the now completed Laurel Memorial Cemetery Project.

 

Dr. Elgin Klugh is an Associate Professor and Department Chair at Coppin State University, an Historically Black College & University in Baltimore, Maryland.  He came to work at Coppin after he completed his Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology at University of Southern Florida in 2004.  He was drawn to the field due to his desire to better understand race and ethnicity in the United States, which he felt he could better explore though advanced anthropological training.  With research interests in heritage, cultural landscapes, community revitalization, and genealogy he has managed to establish himself not only as a researcher but advocate for African American populations in the greater Baltimore area.

 

It was these very interests that encouraged him to partner with faculty at the University of Baltimore in the Laurel Memorial Cemetery Project.  He and his faculty collaborator initially saw this as an opportunity for their students, particularly those with interests in history, environmental sciences, cultural resource management, and archaeology, to get applied experience in the field.  The purpose of the Laurel Memorial Cemetery Project was to document and memorialize an African American cemetery that had been razed in 1958 for the construction of a shopping complex.  As Klugh, his faculty collaborators, and the students began their work in 2014 they quickly realized that there were a lot of inaccuracies in the historical record about what really happened in 1958.  According to the records there were 300 “burials” that had been moved, but the reality was that it was not the actual burials that were moved.  Just the headstones.  Plus, the cemetery had anywhere from 14,000 to 40,000 burials, not the mere 300 previously recorded.  This meant that the project was far larger than initially perceived, and collaborators and student participants from other area colleges and universities, including Community College of Baltimore County, Towson University, and Morgan State University, were enlisted in the work.

 

The project was completed in three phases.  The first phase, which began in 2015 and was completed in 2017, involved archaeological work.  Students were led by archaeologists at the University of Baltimore in excavating an open field adjacent to the shopping center to assess if there were any remaining burials on the property.  These were discovered.  Additionally, noninvasive techniques, including remote sensing with a magnetometer and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), were employed to scan the parking lot and other areas inaccessible to traditional excavations.  These, too, demonstrated evidence to burials that had not been moved prior to the construction of the shopping center.

 

The second phase employed Klugh’s expertise.  Historical and ethnographic research was conducted, which involved three separate areas of inquiry.  Historical research was completed to understand the use and eventual razing of the cemetery, along with research on who had been buried in it over the 100 plus years the cemetery had been used.  Lastly, there were oral histories collected from members of the community and family members of deceased individuals interred at the cemetery.  One of the things that Klugh noted was the loss of collective memory of the cemetery, as well as the sparsity of historical records on its existence.  This underscored the need to document the cemetery and its loss to redevelopment to remember the people who had lived and then been buried at the cemetery, as well as document the historical injustice against these individuals and the African American communities of the area. 

 

Various local community members were involved in the project, and they report great satisfaction in learning about their histories and the cemetery.  This participation lent itself well to the final stage of the project, which involved erecting a memorial at the site.  The memorial would act as a place marker for what had once existed but was now lost.  It would also serve as an educational tool.  The memorial was erected in part through grant money Klugh and his collaborators secured.  Additionally, Klugh and others coauthored a book on the project, which came out in December 2024.

 

Now that the Laurel Memorial Cemetery Project is completed Klugh is focusing his attention on community development and revitalization in the urban areas around Coppin State University.  This new project is on-going, but it serves his other interests and fulfills his purpose as an anthropologist.  According to Klugh: "Anthropology is the venue through which I am able to align my curiosities and my passion with my professional life. As an applied anthropologist, I am interested in ways that anthropological knowledge can be used to improve lives and communities.”  So far it is safe to say that Klugh is doing just that through his previous and current projects.

 

Works Cited

American Anthropological Association. Elgin L. Klugh, PhD, Associate Professor, Coppin State University. 2024. Electronic. 26 November 2024.

Coppin State University. Faculty: Elgin Klugh, PhD; Professor and Chairperson. 2024. Electronic. 26 November 2024.

Klugh, Elgin. "The Laurel Cemetery Project of Baltimore." 18 January 2019. National Association for the Practice of Anthropology. Electronic. 26 November 2024.

Klugh, Elgin. Why Anthropology? Elgin Klugh Irma McClaurin. 1 June 2024. Electronic.

Laurel Cemetery Memorial Project. Project Overview, Laurel Cemetery Memorial Project. n.d. Electronic. 26 November 2024.