More than two dozen grave shafts have been discovered at a lost, but not forgotten African American cemetery in Clearwater. Among the team of researchers who took part in the effort are USF-based archaeologists helping to give a community the chance to memorialize those still at rest under layers of dirt, time and development.
Jeff Moates is the regional director of the , housed within the USF Department of Anthropology. Moates and his team, led by Tampa engineering firm, , were brought in by the City of Clearwater to investigate the site, known today as North Greenwood, after calls from local community organizations, including the .
鈥淭he work that was done at the North Greenwood site is monumental to the North Greenwood community,鈥� said Zebbie D. Atkinson IV, president of the NAACP鈥檚 Clearwater/Upper Pinellas branch. 鈥淔or so long the community has voiced that there were bodies that hadn't been removed, but those voices fell on deaf ears. The work that FPAN and Cardno have done proves that the community was correct, there are still bodies at the site and there needs to be recognition of the wrongs that have been committed against the African American community in the North Greenwood area.鈥�
Use of North Greenwood as a cemetery dates back to between 1940 and the early 1950s. In 1954, a number of gravesites were relocated to a cemetery in Dunedin to prepare the site for development. However, for years, community members have believed a number of unmarked graves still remained at North Greenwood.
This latest work confirms those suspicions after archaeologists spent two weeks excavating grave shafts first located using ground-penetrating radar (GPR).
鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to be out here working on behalf on this community,鈥� Moates said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e heard from people here who remember going to funerals at this site and spending time with family here. So, to be part of bringing these sites back to the forefront and giving these communities the chance to memorialize them is really special.鈥�
Archaeologists with Cardno, Inc., many of whom are USF alumni, will now analyze data collected at the site, develop a complete report and present it to the City of Clearwater for further determination on how to proceed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really trying to answer the questions that the community and the property owners have about what happened here and we鈥檙e trying to use our expertise to get those answers,鈥� said Becky O鈥橲ullivan, M.S. 鈥�12, a senior archaeologist with Cardno and USF alumna. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important work and we鈥檙e all glad to be part of it.鈥�
North Greenwood is the latest in a number of African American cemeteries across Tampa Bay to be rediscovered. Zion Cemetery in Tampa was the first site to be found after an extensive and subsequent archaeological work by USF, FPAN and Cardno. Moates says that along with North Greenwood, another site in Clearwater has already been identified for further investigation. And while each of these sites represents an opportunity for a community to get answers, he hopes more will be done.
鈥淲hen the Zion Cemetery project came out, Tampa Bay legislators joined together to sponsor a bill that looks at this issue statewide,鈥� Moates said. 鈥淎frican American cemeteries faced different challenges than the majority of cemeteries in Florida, especially those that are predominantly white. So, taking steps at the state level to really look at these issues is an important part of moving forward.鈥�
If passed, that legislation would set up a task force to investigate abandoned African American cemeteries around the state. Sen. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, first introduced early last year. The bill was unanimously passed in the Florida Senate but is still awaiting a vote in the House.
Until then, archaeologists with USF, FPAN and Cardno will continue their work finding and documenting these lost but not forgotten sites.