1,200 graves are missing in Tampa. How did they disappear?

Questions and demands swirl around the fate of 12,000 missing graves of Black people in Tampa.

THE REMAINS OF A COVERUP? TAMPA Three newspaper articles reported on the death of Bessie Williams in 1918, but none focused on the Black woman’s life. There was no mention of her age, survivors or funeral services. Instead, the stories detailed how clients of the laundry woman could retrieve their garments. “They cared more about clothes,” said Yvette Lewis, head of the Hillsborough County NAACP. “Because of the color of her skin, they didn’t respect her in life. And they didn’t respect her in death.”

On a February afternoon, Lewis walked the Italian Club Cemetery’s grass lot at 2520 E. 24th Ave. and wondered if Williams’ body was there. Is it under the land used for parking? Is it under a portion that has a mausoleum for Italians? Records reviewed by the Tampa Bay Times indicate more than 1,200 people — mostly pioneering Black residents of Tampa, some historic figures — might have been buried in the land now devoid of headstones. Nearly all, including Williams, are missing. This is not an isolated phenomenon. Five erased or lost cemeteries have so far been discovered throughout Tampa Bay over the last few years. Four were for Black people, one was mostly for Black burials.

FULL STORY

Reporter: By Paul Guzzo -- Times Staff Writer

Word Count: 3280

Publication: Tampa Bay Times

Section: A DESK