African American Funeral Service

The History of the African-American Funeral Service

The African-American Funeral Custom: Our “Home Going” Heritage

Written by Erich March, who is Vice President of March Funeral Homes in Baltimore, MD. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social and Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University. Reprinted with the permission of Batesville Casket Company.

African-American history is rich with distinctive characteristics and extraordinary achievements, flavored with time-honored traditions. The tradition of the" Home-Going Service," when used to characterize and memorialize the passing of a loved one, is no less unique as a funeral ritual when caring for the dead in the black community.

To understand the magnitude of the influence our African-based culture has had on the practice of funeral service, not only in this country but the entire world, we must go back to the time of the ancient Egyptians. Despite the depictions of Hollywood, we must remember that ancient Egypt was an African country ruled by an African people, and all historians give them credit for developing the techniques of embalming and preparing the deceased for ritual services. The act of preserving a human being in order to conduct funeral services over an extended period of time and placing them in a container for burial is practiced all over the world as a way of remembering the life of a loved one. This method of commemoration was started by a people of color.

The comforting effect of socialized mourning and the opportunity to acknowledge the end of life for a relative and fellow human being was denied to the first African-Americans. Ironically, when a member of the slave master's family died, it was the role of the house slaves to wash and dress the remains for reposing and make elaborate preparations for the social gathering of plantation owners paying their respects to the bereaved family.

However, the history of African-Americans, as well as the history of mankind, has shown that the human spirit and an innate sense of self-worth cannot tolerate constant degradation and at some point will rebel. Slave revolts started to occur and many died, both black and white. Measures were taken by slave owners, who were physically outnumbered by their slaves, to pacify and control them.

Pacification came in the form of relaxing some of the inhumane regulations governing the institution of slavery, such as allowing the formation of family structure which was previously prevented by the separation of male and female blacks except for breeding purposes. Even though families were allowed to form and live together as a unit, it was not uncommon for the family to be separated and sold.

At one time in America, the right to give a loved one the respect and dignity of proper burial was against the law if you were black. Early in our nation's history, when Africans were brought here by force and subjected to the inhuman practice of slavery, laws were enacted and enforced to prohibit slaves from congregating in any form of assembly for fear they would have opportunity to conspire and plan revolts. This prohibition of assembly prevented the slaves from having organized gatherings for funeral services. Usually, the deceased slave was buried unceremoniously on non-crop producing land in an unmarked grave, sometimes dug by slave children too young to work in the fields.

Control came in the form of hiring missionaries to introduce Christianity to the slaves. This was not out of concern for their immortal souls, because they were regarded as less than human, but to introduce the concept and fear of the eternal fires of hell for acts of disobedience to God and master. Slave owners recognized that their slaves were spiritually inclined, clinging to ancestral and tribal beliefs and practices, but they never suspected the enthusiasm with which the slaves would embrace the "white man's" religion.

What the slave owner and the missionary did not realize was how much the Bible reflected the everyday experience of the persecuted African-Americans. The Old Testament told the story of a captive and enslaved race, who through the help of God and a man named Moses, was led to freedom and the promised land. The New Testament told the story of Jesus' promise of many mansions in His Father's house, grander than the plantation owners', for those who kept the faith.

The passion for Christianity, along with the tribal customs of using drums and tambourines, dancing and shouting, caused one missionary to write, "the slaves take solace in religion and worship with such intensity and display of emotion, that it is almost too terrible to witness."

Assembly was allowed for religious services as well as funerals. The intensity for religious expression was also displayed at burial services. To the bewilderment of white onlookers, the slaves exhibited behavior that contradicted the nature of the event. They were jubilant and celebrating rather than somber or mournful. With no hope of ever returning to their native homeland, the slave's attitude was that death was the escape they longed for, that death was the release from a life of constant suffering, leaving behind the squalor of shacks for heavenly mansions in the sky.

To the slaves, death was not viewed as an act of dying but as an act of "Going Home." Today, that theme continues to dominate the practice of African-American funeral customs, whether out of respect for tradition or a belief that social conditions in America have seen little change.

The Legacy of the African-American Funeral Director: A Tradition of Service and Pride

From ancient Egypt to the modern day practice of mortuary science, black people have played a major role in caring for the dead and rendering services to bereaved families. In the African-American community, the profession of funeral service has always been a respected cornerstone of black-owned businesses.

When slaves were denied the dignity of ritual burial, they themselves performed the tasks necessary for funerals to be conducted when members of the slave owner's family died.

Preparing the remains, building the coffin, digging the grave, and tending the cemetery were all the responsibility of the first African-Americans. During the Civil War, it was the black soldiers who were responsible for removing the dead from the battlefields and organizing veteran cemeteries that kept records of burial sites for soldiers killed in combat, a function that was the forerunner of the Armed Forces Department of Grave Registry. When embalming was required in order for Union soldiers killed in the South to be sent back home for burial in the northern states, it was done by black assistants to military doctors.

Before caring for the deceased was practiced by African Americans as a paid service, it was usually a family member or a church-designated person who was the one called when a death occurred. They took charge to see that all preparations for the funeral were attended to.

At the turn of the century, black churches formed burial societies, which collected moneys from members to be used for burial expenses such as the purchase of coffins and cemetery plots. Funeral businesses came into existence at that time because there were now funds to support such enterprises. In fact, unlike the white community, many funeral businesses were started by African-American women who had the experience of being caregivers when a death occurred.

The black funeral director has always had a history of providing extraordinary service to accommodate his or her community. In the early 1900s, the white community inhabited the cities, whereas the black population was still limited to rural areas. Consequently, the black funeral director would have to travel miles over rugged terrain in horse drawn carriages, tending to the deceased at the family home, providing ice for the "cooling board" under the remains, delivering the casket, and arranging for the grave.

It was not until the 1920s when blacks moved into the industrial cities to get manufacturing jobs that black funeral directors converted the bottom floors of their private residences into funeral parlors or "funeral homes."

Four institutions in the African-American community have survived the desegregation of American society and remain as uniquely owned and patronized by the black community. They are the black church, the black barber shop or beauty salon, the black cocktail lounge, and the black funeral home. The black funeral home was usually operated as a family business and passed on from one generation to the next.

The African-American funeral director has always been a trusted and admired member of black society, respected for their compassionate service and leadership qualities. In addition to operating funeral businesses, many have gone on to hold political office and provide a wide range of economic benefits to their communities.