CLEARWATER, Fla — It’s clear: The legacy of segregation lives through death throughout the Tampa Bay area.
The recent rediscovery of the forgotten Zion Cemetery in Tampa was a painful reminder of the impact of racism and segregation, and the Whispering Souls cemetery in Clearwater is another.
“A once forgotten cemetery like this place should have never been forgotten,” said Jacqueline Hayes. "We're righting wrongs. And that's our mission as a collective group."
Hayes is the president of the Whispering Souls African American Cemetery Restoration Project, which aims to preserve the history and legacy of this segregated cemetery that dates back to the late 1800s.
Tonya Barber lives next door and stumbled across the cemetery about 18 years ago.
Today, she joins others in the community in an effort to preserve its history.
"It was all overgrown, you couldn't see the headstones because of the weeds in the grass,” said Barber.
Hayes said volunteers come together to keep the cemetery grounds in good condition. The next step is for the group to gain ownership of the cemetery. It currently has no owner, as it was deeded to the “colored community of Safety Harbor” when it was created.
"There aren't even really accurate burial records out here," she said. "My grandfather was one of the last peoples to be buried here. But according to the county records, they stopped in…1972. He died in 1973. So, his name's not even listed. And I'm sure there are many others that go neglected all that time."
That happened with Zion Cemetery in Tampa. At least 126 graves were paved over to make room for a public housing development. However, volunteers with Whispering souls, both black and white alike, refuse to let that happen.
“It's important for the African American community to step up and to say, we are not having this,” said Hayes. “If the community had banded together back in the day, maybe some of that could have been stopped. We're reclaiming it now. Because it should never happen.”
People from all backgrounds agree.
“The diversity of the folks who’ve gotten involved here speaks counter to perhaps the segregation that may have created this place. So, I think a lot of us are agents that have tried to write that wrong,” said Louis Claudio, who’s volunteered with the cemetery for more than 20 years. “We've had Christian Jew, young and old white and black. We've had a lot of diversity, working here again to restore dignity and protect this place.”
Archaeologists with USF scanned the cemetery with ground-penetrating radar and found dozens of unmarked graves at three feet deep. They expect to find even more in an upcoming report that looks at what’s in the ground at six feet deep.
"We have a question whether or not the cemetery range extends beyond its current fence lines,” said Claudio.
Without historical maps, that'll be hard to know. Claudio also said financial reasons might be why there are so few grave markers above ground that remain.
“That gets back to so many issues about you know, affordability--people being able to afford cemetery markers, for example. And culturally, there were times when people just left…markers made out of wood,” he said, adding that wood deteriorates over time and that other fragile markers people might have left because it’s all they could afford have probably been destroyed with time.
Pinellas County Commissioner Dave Eggers has spent time volunteering with the cemetery, and said he is interested in helping the group with financial support from the county once it establishes ownership, which Hayes expects sometime next year.
“We want to see what we can do to make it make it right. Making it right as identifying it, cleaning it, making sure we have ownership, making sure that it's done right, identifying the gravesites, giving it the proper entryway and making it a place of honor,” said Eggers.
And a place to be honored by all, regardless of race.
"Everyone thinks it's African American Cemetery, it's a black thing,” said Hayes. “No, it's a human thing for us, and we're a reflection of that."
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.
What other people are reading right now:
- These new Florida laws go into effect Oct. 1
- 'It's like a bad, bad, bad dream' | Family heartbroken over death of 11-year-old who collapsed at football event
- Florida funeral home invites public to attend services of veteran with no family
- Parents ask for change after bullying video goes viral
- Surprise September snowstorm creates unforgettable wintry wedding photos
FREE 10NEWS APP:
