At least eight turn-of-the-century burial grounds for the Tampa area’s Black residents were erased, built over and then discovered due to Tampa Bay Times investigations spanning four years.
Some of the cemeteries might not have been targeted because they were Black cemeteries or because they were on Black-owned land. Some might have disappeared due to both factors.
Possibly, Jones said, but doubtful. “Like all the Jim Crow South, disenfranchising, any minority and especially African Americans, was the pastime of many. The Black community had no political power or financial wherewithal to protect themselves. They were obvious targets for people who wanted to take advantage of them.”
The Port Tampa Cemetery was taken via eminent domain and the land became part of MacDill Air Force Base.Zion Cemetery, now under Robles Park Village housing projects, warehouses and a tow lot. White cemeteries were also incorrectly taxed in that era, but the owners successfully petitioned to have the fees waved, according to Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commission minutes from that era.
So far, archaeologists have only surveyed and confirmed that bodies are still buried at Zion and Port Tampa cemeteries.The search for erased cemeteries began in 2018 when researcher Ray Reed told the Times about death records he discovered for Zion.
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