CLEARWATER, Fla. – After five days of digging, Cardno archaeologists have found 25 graves buried in many on and across the street from the Curtis Fundamental School in Clearwater.
Heather Leigh
An important piece of evidence: ‘This is the name tag for mr. William Ridley, who was buried here in 1951, ‘said Jeff Moates, regional director of the Florida Public Archeology Network.
This proves what many members of the community have been saying for years now – the lawn on the corner of Engman Street and Holt Avenue still contains the graves and corpses of more than two dozen African-American people.
Heather Leigh
For Barbara Sorey-Love, it also shows a darker side of history.
“It shows contempt for African Americans,” she said. ‘The depreciation of our value and truth always comes to the fore. The truth always comes to the fore. ”
Archaeologists have also found all sorts of objects that people would normally leave behind at tombs, plus coffin nails and hardware associated with tombs.
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“The community has gone unanswered for too long, and now they are getting the answers, and respecting them,” Sorey-Love said.
The cemetery was in operation from 1940 to about 1954. According to historical documentation, there was a relocation process when the school district acquired the land for a city pool. The land exchange was conditional that all graves be removed.
“We are clearly learning that it provides insight into our past and our past, and that it needs to be explored a little more,” said Bill Horn, the city manager of the city of Clearwater.
“These are all examples of remnants of structural racism, how black lives black lives have not mattered for a long time,” Moates said. ‘What these words say is that these places belong here; they must stay here. These places are sacred. ”
Archaeologists say they have not yet found much documentation regarding the people buried here, and hope the community will help develop a clearer picture so that these people can be honored and remembered as they were intended.