TAMPA, Fla. — After archaeologists confirmed 55 graves from an erased African American cemetery underneath a towing lot in Tampa, managers want someone to take action.
"They're going to have to take some responsibility,” said Tony Huffman, general manager at Sunstate Wrecker Service.
But who is ‘they?’ and what will ‘they’ do?
"I couldn't begin to tell you which agency ultimately will have jurisdiction over this, so we're just doing business as normal,” said Huffman.
For a moment, there were informal talks of a land swap, but that never went anywhere.
“That's something we would like to see happen, we think it would be in the best interest in the city and us to move forward with that. But ultimately, it's something the city will have to decide if they want to pursue,” said Huffman.
Councilman Orlando Gudes said any land swaps would have to go through the city council, and there are no proposals just yet.
Tampa Housing Authority Chief Operating Officer Leroy Moore said his agency will likely continue taking the lead on righting this wrong. THA owns more than half of the 2.5 acres that comprise the forgotten cemetery, which is believed to be one of the first African American burial grounds in the city.
The housing authority has already started moving people in its Robles Park Village property who live in buildings on top of the cemetery. Moore says THA will reach out to the towing company within the next few weeks to have a conversation with the owners about where to go from here.
"Ultimately, the people who are in power today had nothing to do with this. They've been given a mess to straighten out. We certainly want to give them the time to investigate everything, to make sure any deal that's made is right for the city and us as well,” said Huffman.
Huffman also noted there is one other property owner impacted by the cemetery discovery. Businessman Richard Gonzmart owns land on top of the cemetery. Archaeologists recently scanned his property for graves; he has not yet released those results.
You can watch more of Emerald Morrow's stories about Tampa Bay's forgotten African American cemeteries here:
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