Hi, I currently reside in rapidly declining neighborhood known as Lakeland which sits on top the hill from the Mt. Auburn Cemetary here in Baltimore, MD. I often wondered why no one would ever care enough to invest a little heart and elbow grease to restore the cemetary. It is the oldest Black Cemetary in the city. Researching the history of this 1st black cemetary in Baltimore, it was revealed that escaped slaves via The Underground Railroad either killed or died were baried there by African-American Baltimorians. At which time it even had a different name. It's original name was "The City for The Dead Colored People". Like most Baltimorians, I too have relatives buried in this resting place. To make things even worst, the cemetary from time to time still host funerals, even, in its ruins. Several years ago, I participated in assisting The Sharp Street Church in it's community cleaning campaign, which to my knowledge we had made a difference and it looked as good as the newer cemetaries by the time we were done. Unfortunately, no one cared enough to continue with this effort to continually maintain since. I often drive by the cemetary in my travels and each time I notice something different. For instance, on the south side (Annapolis Road), you can see the high unmanicured grass covering head stones of Soldiers dating back to 1783 and that the fencing caved in from a vehicle accident some time ago forcefully pressed against and over tomb stones. On the West (Westport Street), where the older sides meets up with the latest burial side, displaying how the side used for current burials is seperated by the main road leading into the cemetary. The lost and forgotten side has the high grass and debris all over that sector. I think that City, State, and Federal electives should step in and create a bill that would allow specific funding and upkeep for this US National Landmark. If it was that of a white ancestary burial place it would no doubt had been preserved and treated as for example,The Green Mount Cemetary which is currently the resting place of John Wilkes Both and many others of the white race. We all need to get together on this and definately make the move to put this cemetary back on the map. Please include me in any efforts to preserve and restore this historical landmark (our fore-father's resting place).