Founded by Black Atlantans in 1886 after segregation restricted dignified burial options, South-View Cemetery became the final resting place of generations of the people who built, challenged and represented Black Atlanta. This may be the recommendation on the list that makes somebody ask: “You want me to visit a cemetery on vacation?”

Yes. We do. If you were in New Orleans you would do it with zero hesitation, and you don’t even know those folks over there. But here, South-View isn't simply a cemetery. It's an archive with headstones. Black Atlantans founded South-View in 1886 because even death existed inside the racial order of the segregated South. So, once again, Black Atlanta built its own institution.

Walk these grounds today and names you've encountered throughout Atlanta's history stop being paragraphs in books. They're here. Congressman John Lewis. Baseball legend Hank Aaron. Civil Rights leader Julian Bond. Alonzo Herndon and members of the Herndon family. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was originally buried at South-View before his remains were moved to The King Center. And countless Black Atlantans whose names aren't famous are here too. That's important.

Because history isn't only presidents and celebrities. These grounds contain families, ministers, teachers, business owners, organizers and generations of Black people who lived through Atlanta becoming what it is today. Be respectful. Slow down. And understand where you're standing.