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Florida lawmakers OK funding to commemorate black cemeteries

This June 27, 2019 photo, shows the grave of Caroline Hicks, at left, one of seven moved from the now-forgotten Zion Cemetery to Memorial Park, an African-American cemetery in Tampa, Fla. The Florida Senate set aside $100,000 in its budget proposal to erect memorials at Zion and Ridgewood cemeteries in Tampa. Both were African Americas cemeteries that were abandoned and in some cases the land was developed on top of burial sites.(James Borchuck/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
This June 27, 2019 photo, shows the grave of Caroline Hicks, at left, one of seven moved from the now-forgotten Zion Cemetery to Memorial Park, an African-American cemetery in Tampa, Fla. The Florida Senate set aside $100,000 in its budget proposal to erect memorials at Zion and Ridgewood cemeteries in Tampa. Both were African Americas cemeteries that were abandoned and in some cases the land was developed on top of burial sites.(James Borchuck/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)/Tampa Bay Times via AP) This June 27, 2019 photo, shows the grave of Caroline Hicks, at left, one of seven moved from the now-forgotten Zion Cemetery to Memorial Park, an African-American cemetery in Tampa, Fla. The Florida Senate set aside $100,000 in its budget proposal to erect memorials at Zion and Ridgewood cemeteries in Tampa. Both were African Americas cemeteries that were abandoned and in some cases the land was developed on top of burial sites.(James Borchuck/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN / The Associated Press 2 min read

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Memorials would be erected at two nearly forgotten Tampa cemeteries where hundreds of African Americans are buried, under a plan approved Wednesday by the Florida Senate amid outrage over years of indifference that permitted development on top of the burial sites.

By unanimous voice vote, the Senate set aside $100,000 in its budget proposal to erect memorials at Zion and Ridgewood cemeteries, both in Tampa. The proposal still needs House approval.

Last summer, the Tampa Bay Times launched an investigation that unearthed evidence of a large cemetery beneath a public housing project. Prompted by the paper’s reporting, archaeologists have since confirmed that nearly 800 people were buried at Zion between 1901 and 1929. It was the first African American cemetery recognized by the city of Tampa.

Months later, ground-penetrating radar revealed another cemetery containing at least 145 graves, but possibly as many as 268, on the grounds of King High, a public school in Tampa.

Scores of black cemeteries across the Southeast, including Florida, are at risk of being forever lost because they are now unmarked. A move is underway nationally to rediscover these lost cemeteries to protect them from developers and to honor their role in American history. Many small cemeteries contain the remains of enslaved people.