TAMPA, Fla. — When Hillsborough County school board member and former chair Tamara Shamburger stood before a room of reporters on November 20 and announced 145 caskets were detected in a grassy field on the property of King High School in Tampa, it set off a frenzy. Local and national news reports carried on for days, and it was the chatter all around town.
Local and national news reports carried on for days, and it was the chatter all around town. But who talked to the children impacted by the news?
The district vowed to incorporate into its curriculum the story of the erased cemetery that holds primarily African American bodies. However, it takes time and careful planning to teach that chapter of the county’s history well.
Ms. Ivey Shipp Washington’s African American History class at Jefferson High School is a different story. Last Thursday, open dialogue and questions from inquisitive students about how and why something like this could happen steered the path of instruction for the day.
Jaden Harris, student:
“I feel like we get into the habit of trying to sweep things that are hard to talk about or are important in our history, whether it be culturally going on now today, just kind of sweep those things under the rug. I think this is a literal, physical and tangible example of trying to literally mask what's actually going on in our history instead of like talking about it and addressing it directly…”
Melinda Dorcelus, student:
“I think that they should break down the building that's on top of it and then put the name of the cemetery there and make it an actual place again. And…find the families of the people that are buried there and apologize to them because I feel like that was very disrespectful. Just putting a building on top of a cemetery of young kids on top of that.”
Dakayla Hall, student
“It should be…more knowledge on what is going on. What was actually the purpose? What was actually like the start of why those kids are under the ground, too?”
Miya Grimes, student
“I think if anything, they should [have] a memorial at the school instead of tearing the whole school down. Because like Dekayla said, there's still kids there that have to go to school. So, they should just add a memorial to recognize the people that is buried there.”
Shabrea Turner, student
“I personally feel like they should leave the bodies and coffins that were there because they shouldn't be disturbed, and if they knew all this information, they should [have] just put the school in a different location. It shouldn't have been built there in the first place if they know all the coffins and everything was there.”
The district says it is working on a social studies curriculum that will incorporate the King High School cemetery. Ms. Ivy Shipp-Washington is part of the committee that will create the lesson plans.
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. To read more about the search for lost African American burial grounds in the Tampa Bay area, head to wtsp.com/erased.
RELATED: 145 coffins found at King High School, part of an erased African American cemetery in Tampa
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