TAMPA, Fla. — June 19 marks a pivotal day in American history. That day in 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were read the Emancipation Proclamation and were among the last to learn of their freedom.
Yvette Lewis, president of the Hillsborough Chapter of the NAACP, said this day is about education.
"If you don't know your history, you're bound to repeat it," she said.
But this day is about much more than just that reading in Galveston, in Lewis' opinion.
Erased black cemeteries tell the ongoing stories of countless formerly enslaved people and more. There's a fight for justice, for the eternal resting place of so many that ended up buried underneath Tampa's growth and development.
"I think about how their loved ones had to ride past and see it, but they could not say anything back then because they feared for their lives," she said.
On June 17, 2021, Lewis called for the City of Tampa to honor the people put to rest in what would become one of many erased cemeteries. She referenced Robert Meacham, who was buried at the College Hill Cemetery. While Meacham was born enslaved, he died a former Florida Senator.
"Where is he buried? Where is he located?" she said.
In 2022, the city gave some insight into where Meacham may be buried. Right in front of the Italian Club Cemetery, a historical marker references a cemetery of a different name: The College Hill Cemetery.
It was likely the first burial ground for black people in Tampa, that's at least according to the marker. The marker reads several prominent black citizens, including Meacham, were interred at the cemetery. Despite being a permanent resting place for well-known Floridians, it still became one of the numerous black cemeteries left behind as cities across the country expanded.
Lewis continues to ask the question she posed in 2021: Where is Robert Meacham?
While the city and Lewis are confident Meacham was buried in College Hill Cemetery, the question remains: where then and where now?
The marker says, "Extensive documentary evidence points to this location as the site of College Hill Cemetery, but further archeological investigation is needed to confirm if those buried within it still rest here."
Councilmembers discussed that question about a month ago. Carl Brody, a part of the city's legal department, gave insight into the potential hold up.
"We have concern with doing a forced GPR, Ground Penetrating Radar, on any of these sites because they are private property," he said.
A memo from an assistant city attorney says any private cemetery scan must be done in coordination with the private property owner. The memo states city administration got a verbal agreement from the Italian Club that they will scan their cemetery properties and give the results to the city when it's done.
