forgotten cemeteries

Turtle Mound, the tallest shell mound in the mainland United States, is an example of what it looks like when proactive measures are taken to preserve and monitor a coastal mound. But for this mound and hundreds of Indigenous cultural sites in Florida, archeologists are asking how long they can race against erosion.

Royal is a historically Black rural and agricultural community — with a tradition of property ownership in 40-acre and 80-acre land grants passed down from generation to generation. In Royal, the family’s land ownership is everything.

Only a fraction of the state's cemeteries have been officially located and documented.

It's home to the infamous case known as the "Groveland Four," in which four young black men were falsely accused and convicted of raping a 17-year-old white woman in 1949.

The lack of action on the legislation stunned supporters and the reasons for its demise were not clear.

One woman's quest to learn where her ancestors may have been buried led to a historic African-American burial ground believed to hold the graves of former slaves from Welaunee and Fleischmann plantations in Leon County.

Since the owner of Memorial Park Cemetery died in 2019, the city of Tampa has invested considerable time, manpower and money to protect and improve the grounds of the resting place for Black veterans.

At least four abandoned African American cemeteries have been rediscovered in Florida. The finds are forcing communities to look at their history and racist policies that targeted Black neighborhoods.

Five University of South Florida professors launched the Black Cemetery Network last June.

Five University of South Florida professors launched the Black Cemetery Network last June.

The city of St. Petersburg has hired an engineering firm to scan the 7.4 acre site with ground-penetrating radar.

Students in the greater Tampa Bay region are learning more about the history of their communities through an educational project involving African American cemeteries.