Jennifer Rosanne States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it. Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (October 2006)

Jennifer Rosanne States was a Black Canadian child who died at age three in September 1968 and made national headlines when she was refused burial in an all-white cemetery.

States had been very ill from soon after birth. Her parents, with six other young children, were unable to care for her and sent her to a white foster family in Windsor. When she died this family tried to have her buried in the St. Croix Cemetery. However, the managing board cited a 1907 bylaw banning Blacks and natives from the cemetery. States was instead buried in a traditionally Black cemetery nearby. The incident came to the attention of the national media and caused a general outcry. The cemetery board quickly backed down and deleted the offending bylaw.

[edit] References

• "N.S. Cemetery Cites 1907 Bylaw, Refuses Burial for Negro Child, 3." The Globe and Mail. October 11, 1968. pg. A1.
• "Cemetery Deletes Bylaw Banning Negro Burial." The Globe and Mail. October 12, 1968. pg. A1.