CLEARWATER, Fla. — A newly formed group has formally asked the city of Clearwater for a $10 million redress over two destroyed and erased segregation-era cemeteries where archaeologists have found more than 400 graves.
“We think $10 million is a fair asking price at this point,” said Barbara Sorey-Love, project chair and spokesperson for the Clearwater African American Cemeteries Committee. The group says its purpose is to “memorialize, honor and preserve the memory and the remains of those buried at the historic, erased African American cemeteries in the city of Clearwater.”
Over the last few years, archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar and non-invasive digs to confirm more than 300 graves from the St. Matthews Baptist Church Cemetery at the FrankCrum human resources company along Missouri Avenue. They also found dozens from the North Greenwood Cemetery at the old Curtis Fundamental School, previously known as Palmetto Elementary, at Holt and Engman.
In a November letter to Clearwater City Council, the Clearwater/Upper Pinellas NAACP asked on behalf of the committee for money to move remains from the St. Matthews Baptist Church Cemetery to the destroyed cemetery to the North Greenwood location.
It also asks for land surrounding the old Curtis Fundamental School and funding to cover the cost of a mausoleum.
The group says evidence suggests the city was responsible, in part, for the destruction of both cemeteries.
“It’s time to correct those wrongs,” Sorey-Love said.
10 Investigates previously obtained records from the 1950s that show the city agreed to remove graves from the school site, and a lawsuit FrankCrum filed last year says the city breached a development agreement by "erroneously...representing that the property 'does not presently include human remains from any cemetery.'"
An attorney for the city of Clearwater said there’s no “evidence that a memorandum of development agreement was ever executed or recorded."
Archaeological estimations suggest it could cost at minimum $4,000 to move one grave. With nearly 400 confirmed graves at the FrankCrum location, that’s at least $1.6 million.
When asked if she believed the city would fulfill the request and give $10 million, Sorey-Love made it clear this would not be a charitable donation.
“They aren't giving us anything,” she said. “It's a payment for an injustice. Sometimes we have to pay for the sins of our fathers."
Some numbers suggest the ask might even be too low for the group’s goal. In renovating the school to make it a mausoleum and memorial site, the vacant building must undergo extensive repair. According to a project estimate from Pinellas County Schools, it would cost at least $11 million to get the building in safe, running order.
The other major hurdle the group faces – there could still be graves below the school building. Archaeological reports have recommended demolition to survey the ground for more burials. Renovating the school could prevent history from keeping an accurate count of graves buried at the site.
Antoinette Jackson, chair of the anthropology department at the University of South Florida, studies Black cemeteries and says these difficult conversations and negotiations are expected.
“These things are really hard and difficult,” she said. “It may look like it’s slow, but people are still organizing, and they’re figuring out what’s next.”
The city of Clearwater says it has received the cemetery group’s request and it is under review. However, with litigation in play, their responses to the community might be limited.
Still, Sorey-Love says she and her group will not relent until those resting in these destroyed sites receive the dignity and respect they deserve.
“We will do what it takes to make sure that we do not fail, that the community rises above,” she said.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.