History Uncovered At Chattanooga’s Pleasant Garden Cemetery

WUTC | By Ray Bassett

Published May 20, 2025 at 5:38 PM EDT

At Pleasant Garden Cemetery in Chattanooga.

(Aired Weds 5/14/25)

Here in Chattanooga, Pleasant Garden Cemetery is one of the oldest historically Black cemeteries in Tennessee.

It is the final resting place for leading members of Chattanooga’s African-American community after Reconstruction and during Jim Crow segregation - as well as tragic figures, including Ed Johnson and at least one of the Scottsboro Boys.

Fifty years ago, the cemetery was abandoned.

In recent years, volunteers have worked on restoring the site.

Antwon Baldwin, a student in UTC’s Department of Communication and an intern here at WUTC, paid a visit.

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