Beauford Delaney - The Beauford Delaney Burial Site

The Beauford Delaney Burial Site

In 2009, freelance writer Monique Y. Wells was researching an article on African-American gravesites in Paris when she learned that Delaney was buried in an unmarked grave at the Parisian Cemetery of Thiais. She discovered that Delaney's remains would be exhumed before the end of the year if the "concession" (the equivalent of a lease) on his grave was not renewed. Friends of Delaney gathered the sum required, and Wells paid the fee to the cemetery to preserve Delaney's resting place.

The same friends who contributed the funds to renew the concession expressed a fervent desire to place a marker at Delaney's gravesite, and Wells was inspired to found a French non-profit association to facilitate fundraising for a tombstone. Called Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, the association was created in November 2009. Fundraising began in February 2010, and the association collected sufficient funds to proceed with ordering and installing the stone by June 2010. The installation was complete by August 2010.

The inscription on the tombstone reads:

Beauford Delaney
Peintre • Painter
30 December 1901 - 26 March 1979
Born: Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Died: Paris, France
"I am home"

A small photo of Delaney is affixed to the stone.

Les Amis de Beauford Delaney organized a commemorative ceremony to inaugurate the tombstone, which took place on October 14, 2010. Several friends and admirers of Delaney gathered at Thiais Cemetery under blue skies and brilliant sunlight to honor him. Wells presided over the ceremony as president of the organization. The Reverend Doctor Scott Herr from the American Church in Paris read Delaney’ favorite scriptures and personal friends of Delaney – Velma Bury, Colin Gravois, and Richard Gibson – gave tributes to him. Singer ferritia-fatia sang "Come Sunday," accompanied by flautist Sabine Boyer. Wells gave her own tribute to Delaney, and laid an arrangement of yellow roses on the tombstone. Reverend Herr closed the ceremony by reading Richard A. Long's poem "Ascending," and saying a final prayer.

After the gravesite ceremony, the group returned to Paris for a reception that was co-hosted by Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and the U.S. Embassy's Department of Public Affairs. Approximately fifty persons gathered at the George C. Marshall Center in the Hotel Talleyrand that evening to continue the celebration of Delaney's life and art. Cultural Attaché Rafik Mansour spoke about Delaney to open the evening. Ammon Hall-Moore sang "God Bless the Child," followed by personal tributes from Velma Bury and Richard Gibson. ferricia-fatia (vocals) and Sabine Boyer (flute) then performed a moving rendition of "Freedom Day."

To end the evening, Wells presented a slide show entitled "Beauford Delaney: From Paris to Beyond" – giving an overview of Beauford's life that concentrated on his favorite haunts and his studios in Paris, and providing an introduction to his art. She then described the events leading up to the installation of Delaney's tombstone, and briefly discussed what projects Les Amis de Beauford Delaney might undertake in the future.