Lincoln Memorial Cemetery is a commercial, privately owned, historically Black cemetery located on the south side of Suitland Road (Maryland State Highway 218) in Suitland, Maryland. The cemetery is adjacent to Washington National Cemetery and across the street from the historically white Cedar Hill Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1927 and is the final resting place of many notable African-Americans, including Walter Washington,
Charles Richard Drew
Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to devel ...
,
Charles Hamilton Houston
Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)Emmett Jay Scott
Emmett Jay Scott (February 13, 1873 – December 12, 1957) was an African American journalist, newspaper editor, academic, and government official who was Booker T. Washington's closest advisor at the Tuskegee Institute. He was responsible for ma ...
, and
Carter Godwin Woodson
Carter Godwin Woodson (December 19, 1875April 3, 1950) was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He was one of the first scholars to study the ...
.
History
Lincoln Memorial Cemetery was founded on part of the Landon dairy farm in 1927 by James Easley Edmunds of Lynchburg, VA for use by Black residents of Washington metropolitan area during a time when cemeteries were segregated and there were few options in the District itself. In the 1920s and 1930s it was one of only two cemeteries for Black residents in the area. The grounds were designed by landscape architect John H. Small.
The most prominent feature in the cemetery is the Bishop W. McCollough mausoleum, which features a statue of the seated Bishop created by Ed Dwight in 1991.
Other notable interments
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Len Bias
Leonard Kevin Bias (November 18, 1963June 19, 1986) was an American college basketball player for the Maryland Terrapins. In the last of his four years playing for Maryland, he was named a consensus first-team All-American. Two days after being s ...
(1963–1986), Maryland college basketball star
* Gail Cobb (1950–1974), first female police officer in the United States shot and killed in the line of duty
* John Wesley Cromwell Jr. (1883–1971), first African-American certified public accountant (CPA) in the United States
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Charles Richard Drew
Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to devel ...
(1904–1950), medical pioneer in blood transfusions
* Edward "Len" Ford (1926–1972), Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
* Sarah Loguen Fraser (1850–1933), fourth female African-American physician in the United States
* Ida Gibbs (1862–1957), one of the founders of Pan-Africanism
* Charlotte Wesley Holloman (1922–2015), opera singer
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Charles Hamilton Houston
Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)William Henry Hunt (1869–1951), diplomat
* Ernest Everett Just (1883–1941), scientist known for the recognition of the role of the cell surface in the development of organisms
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Sam Lacy
Samuel Harold Lacy (October 23, 1903 – May 8, 2003) was an African-American and Native American sportswriter, reporter, columnist, editor, and television/radio commentator who worked in the sports journalism field for parts of nine decades. Cr ...
(1903–2003), sports journalist
* John A. Lankford (1874–1946), architect, "the Dean of Black Architecture"
* Ulysses G. Lee (1913–1969), soldier, professor, author of ''The Employment of Negro Troops'', coeditor of ''The Negro Caravan''
* Harriet Gibbs Marshall (1868–1941), pianist, writer, and educator of music
*
Van McCoy
Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...
(1940–1979), Grammy-award winning R&B Singer known for "The Hustle"
* Kelly Miller (1863–1939), mathematician, sociologist, essayist, newspaper columnist and author. "The Bard of the Potomac"
*
Max Robinson
Maxie Cleveland Robinson Jr. (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was an American broadcast journalist, most notably serving as co-anchor on ''ABC World News Tonight'' alongside Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings from 1978 until 1983. Robinson is ...
(1939–1988), the first African-American broadcast network news anchor in the United States
* Herbert Clay Scurlock (1875–1952), medical researcher
*
Lucy Diggs Slowe
Lucy Diggs Slowe (July 4, 1883 – October 21, 1937) was an American educator and athlete, and the first Black woman to serve as Dean of Women at any American university. She was a founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first sorority fo ...
(1885–1937), first Black woman to serve as Dean of Women at any American university. Founder of
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...
Joseph A. Walker
Joseph Albert Walker (February 20, 1921 – June 8, 1966) ( Capt, USAF) was an American World War II pilot, experimental physicist, NASA test pilot, and astronaut who was the first person to fly an airplane to space. He was one of twelve pilot ...
(1935–2003), Tony-award winning playwright and educator
* Walter Washington (1915–2003), first elected Mayor of the District of Columbia
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Charles H. Wesley
Charles Harris Wesley (December 2, 1891 – August 16, 1987) was an American historian, educator, minister, and author. He published more than 15 books on African-American history, taught for decades at Howard University, and served as president ...
(1891–1987), historian
* Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950), historian, "The Father of African American History"
*
Smokey Joe Williams
Joseph Williams (April 6, 1886 – February 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cyclone Joe" and "Smokey Joe", was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. He is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time and was elected to the Natio ...