BATON ROUGE - Surviving family members of people buried in Gilbert Memorial Cemetery will try to raise money to manage the maintenance of the property themselves.

At a meeting Tuesday night, a group decided they'd take the responsibility since no one else seems to be interested. The cemetery is in disrepair, and has been for years. Previous WBRZ stories reported people have said the cemetery has been in neglect for decades.

"Gilbert is one of the oldest cemeteries in the city of Baton Rouge where African Americans could be buried. At one time, it was the only ones where African Americans could go bury their family members," Councilwoman Donna Collins-Lewis said. "It is historic, it is important to the community. It sits in the heart of the community," she said.

Organizers estimate they need a few thousand dollars to manage the cemetery.

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