Westlawn Cemetery

01 / The story of this place

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Westlawn Cemetery began as a small burial ground called Clairview, with its earliest known grave dating to 1881. In 1922, during the Jim Crow era when many area cemeteries refused to accept Black Detroiters, a group of Detroit pastors who already owned Eastlawn Cemetery bought the seven-acre property and renamed it Westlawn, opening it as a burial ground serving the city's African American community. Motown singer Jackie Wilson, known as “Mr. Excitement” for his acrobatic stage shows and hits like “Higher and Higher,” was buried here in an unmarked grave after his 1984 death; fans and fellow musicians later raised funds for a proper memorial, and he was reinterred in the cemetery's mausoleum on June 9, 1987, alongside his mother, Eliza. A bench near his resting place reads “Jackie – The Complete Entertainer.” Westlawn remains an active cemetery in the city of Wayne today.

1. Began as Clairview Cemetery; earliest known grave dates to 1881.
2. Renamed Westlawn in 1922 by Detroit pastors during the Jim Crow era.
3. Served Detroit's Black community when other cemeteries refused burials.
4. Jackie Wilson was reinterred here in the mausoleum on June 9, 1987.