ALTADENA, Calif. — More than 125 years have passed since anti-slavery activist and civil rights advocate Ellen Garrison Clark was laid to rest at Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery.

Longtime Altadena resident Veronica Jones wants to make sure Clark isn't forgotten.

What You Need To Know

  • Anti-slavery activist and civil rights advocate Ellen Garrison Clark was laid to rest at Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery 129 years ago in an unmarked grave

  • The Altadena Historical Society, including two board members, Veronica Jones and Dr. Sandra Thomas, and other community members, raised money to purchase a headstone for Clark

  • Jones said Clark was a remarkable woman who was one of the first to test the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and taught African Americans how to read

  • A celebration of Clark's life and public unveiling of her headstone takes place on Juneteenth, on the first year it is recognized as a federal holiday

"I thought everyone should know about her," Jones said. "Everyone should know that she shouldn't give up her seat on the bus, and it was not Rosa Parks alone. It was not her original idea."

Jones recently learned about her through the Altadena Historical Society, where she serves as a board member. She said Clark was born a descendant of free slaves and was among the first to test the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Clark also taught African Americans how to read, according to another longtime Altadena resident Dr. Sandra Thomas. 

"She was an educator," Thomas said. "She taught in the Freedmen's Schools for a long time for many years. And she would teach at night because she wasn't allowed to teach in the daytime."

But for all of Clark's achievements, she was buried in an unmarked grave without a headstone. Jones and Thomas took charge and led an effort with the Altadena Historical Society to install one, raising $8,000 from local and national donors.

Although Clark is buried in Southern California, she isn't from the area. She was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1823. According to California historian and author Michele Zak, she likely made her way to the Pasadena area because it welcomed anti-slavery activists. 

"As a place that attracted abolitionists, former abolitionists, union supporters, it was a very progressive enclave at the time," Zak said.

Related Stories

As the nation heads into the first-ever Juneteenth federal holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., Jones said it's the perfect time to unveil Clark's headstone. 

"The nation is watching because of everything that's happened between COVID, George Floyd," Jones said. "People have had time to sit and think and really see what's going on."

A celebration of Ellen Garrison Clark and the public unveiling of her headstone takes place Saturday at Sunrise Chapel at Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery in Altadena. The event will also be livestreamed.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly named Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery as "Memorial View." The article has since been corrected. (June 19, 2021)