Grave with extensive adornment at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Grave adornment was orignally a funerary practice adopted in the poverty-stricken African American community. Unable to afford elaborate headstones, African Americans instead purchased inexpensive trinkets, toys, and decorations to leave at graves. This practice has since expanded beyond the black community. Grave adornment is an issue for cemetery officials, because wind can disperse the items (making the cemetery look dirty and untidy) and because they complicate grave maintenance.