All,
You are cordially invited to attend the dedication of a monument to William and Marie Graves, pioneering black Latter-day Saints of the Oakland Branch. The dedication will be held on May 25 at 11:00 am, at the Evergreen Cemetery (6450 Camden Street, Oakland).
William and Marie Graves joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1911 in Oakland, California. Marie was a dressmaker and William was a Pullman Porter and later a janitor. Marie remained a faithful member of the Oakland Branch to her death in 1930 at age 52. William continued to attend Church after her death, until he passed in 1940, at age 80. Here is a photo of them with Oakland Branch.
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The Graves are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Marie has a headstone, but William had no marker.
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In 2018, prompted by inspiring research by historians Ardis Parshall and Paul Reeve, members of the Oakland First Ward started digging deeper in the Graves story. We learned of their monthly testimonies in fast meetings; of Marie’s love for the hymn “Guide Us, Oh Thou Great Jehovah;” of Marie’s faithful response to a troubling visit to an LDS congregation in Atlanta; of Marie’s steady contribution to the charitable funds of the Relief Society; of William’s generous financial bequest to the Oakland Ward; and of his final request to be buried in white. As Nancy Criddle stated, “The more we learn, the more the Graves’ lives of faith are carved not only on the vessel of the ward but in our hearts.” Ultimately, generous members of the Oakland First Ward, the broader Oakland Stake, and other supporters, donated funds for the creation and installation of a monument honoring the Graves and their legacy.
On April 16, 2019, the monument to the Graves was installed at Evergreen Cemetery.
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We hope the monument becomes a place for the Latter-day Saints community in Oakland and beyond to gather to honor our forebears in the gospel, and especially our African-American sisters and brothers, for years to come. Please join us in a special service to dedicate this monument in honor of Marie and William Graves.
DETAILS:
What: Dedication of William and Marie Graves Monument
When: May 25, 2019 11:00 AM
Where: Evergreen Cemetery, 6450 Camden Street, Oakland, CA 94605
For more information about the Graves, see here and here.
For Paul Reeve’s account of the Graves’ temple sealing, see here.
For Ardis Parshall’s story of rediscovering the Graves, and the process leading to this point, see here
For more information on other early black Latter-day Saints, see here.
GREG CALL
On behalf of Friends of William and Marie Graves
Thanks for so much for this, Ardis.
What an awesome tribute to real Bay area pioneers. I’ll be sure and stop by this summer.
There than the Graves, are there any other names associated with the picture of the Oakland Branch?
Phil, the picture was discovered among materials in one of those closets that all buildings seem to have, by a local historian. I don’t know whether the names of branch members were written on the back — the Graveses were easy to pick out, though, for obvious reasons. I’ll try to find out if others are named.