Catchafire | Judy K
Biography
I’m a family historian whose search for one forgotten little girl in my family tree led me to more than 10,000 people buried across four historic Milwaukee County Grounds cemeteries—and to a commitment to burial justice.
As Founding President of the Descendant Community of Milwaukee County Grounds Cemeteries, Inc., I help lead an all-volunteer, descendant-led nonprofit working for respectful reburial, accountability, preservation, and public remembrance.
At the heart of our work are 2,480 Ancestors exhumed from Cemetery 2 who still await reburial. Those buried at the County Grounds included Civil War veterans, formerly enslaved people, immigrants, Native Americans, and children. Many experienced poverty, disability, institutionalization, or exclusion. Their lives mattered. Their dignity still does.
My advocacy connects burial justice with disability justice and civil rights, with a focus on meaningful descendant involvement and public responsibility for those whose graves have been neglected, disturbed, or erased.
I welcome connections with descendants, advocates, historians, genealogists, veterans, preservationists, researchers, legal professionals, and others working toward these goals. I’m open to partnerships, speaking invitations, research collaboration, and media inquiries.
The circumstances of a person’s life should never determine the dignity afforded to them in death.