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On April 11 and 12, 2026 from 10am to 1pm a group of concerned citizens will gather for a clean-up of Hollywood Cemetery in Memphis, the final resting place of blues legends Furry Lewis and Frank Stokes. If you’d like to volunteer to join them to help in the clean-up please sign up at: https://form.jotform.com/260615215012038Memphis-born musician and artist Diane Green wrote a substack post in 2025 drawing attention to the distressing state of the cemetery, which like Mt. Carmel Cemetery, was owned by a company that was bankrupt as of 2021. The non-profit Mt. Carmel Ally has done amazing work to clean up and maintain Mt. Carmel Cemetery, but Hollywood Cemetery has not been well maintained for many years.
Furry Lewis’ music has been appreciated by generations of blues fans since the 1920s, and one of his best-known songs is his version of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s song “See That My Grave is Kept Clean.” Unfortunately, Lewis’ grave and the monument to Frank Stokes, both erected by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, are in a shocking state of disrepair.
Since Green’s post, a small group of people have been meeting regularly to organize this cleanup and to seek more lasting solutions for the maintenance of the graves of iconic Memphians buried in Hollywood Cemetery and Rose Hill Cemetery.
These efforts are being organized by a diverse group of concerned citizens from Memphis and beyond, including Diane Green, Chicago-based musician, artist and founder of MUSE; Memphian Cynthia Burse-Wesson, the granddaughter of Blues player Charlie Burse, and Margaret Hangan, an archaeologist residing in Arizona, both of whom serve on the board of the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund; Brooklyn-based filmmaker Augusta Palmer, whose film The Blues Society prominently features the music of Furry Lewis.
Our group would love to connect with descendants and families of anyone buried in Hollywood and Rose Hill Cemeteries. Please reach out and contact us using the information below.
We are looking for volunteers to clear brush, cut grass, and haul away rubbish, including abandoned tires. They would love to invite folks who can bring food and/or play music to raise the spirits of those working on the clean-up. Donations of tools, mowers, and other equipment would be welcome.
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Event Venue
Hollywood Cemetery 2012 Hernando Rd, Memphis, TN 38106, United States
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