Houston tore through historic Black cemetery in the 1960s. Now, workers have found more remains.
on Lockwood Drive, which the city apparently missed when it tore through the site to expand the street in the 1940s and '60s, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday.
“We owe it to those who were buried here and, quite frankly, to those who have yet to come, to remember these families and give them a final resting place with dignity and respect," Turner said."It is unfortunate we are having to address this in 2023.”A.K. Kelley, a former slave and prominent local businessman, opened the cemetery in Fifth Ward in 1887. Thought to be one of the founders of the Mount Zion Baptist Church, he died in 1928 and is buried in the family plot at the cemetery.
The city initially expanded Lockwood Drive in the 1940s, bisecting the cemetery. In the 1960s, it widened it further to include a median between the lanes at Market Street, Turner said. That work included moving hundreds of bodies and burial sites, and the city promised descendents it would move all of the bodies to the cemetery's remaining sites.
Turner said officials now will work with Project RESPECT, a nonprofit group that has worked since the 1990s to rehabilitate and maintain the historic cemetery, to do so. Metro Chairman Sanjay Ramabhadran said the transit agency would halt all work in the area, ensure the remains are respectfully moved and reinterred, and place a monument in the esplanade to recognize the significance of the site.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Houston drive-by: 2 dead, one in the hospital after fatal shooting in SW HoustonTwo dead and another in the hospital after a shooting in southwest Houston.
Leer más »
Houston Newsmakers: Black History facts and the fight against politicizationThis week on Houston Newsmakers: Host Khambrel Marshall sits down with Dr. Alexander Byrd, Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Rice University to talk Black History Month in a politicized world. Plus more, today at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2
Leer más »
Houston Black History Month events: Things to doBlack History Month has arrived and many places in the Houston area are hosting events, celebrations, performances, and more to honor the holiday.
Leer más »
Advocates: Black cops not exempt from anti-Black policingThat the death of Tyre Nichols — young, Black, just trying to get home — came at the hands of Memphis police officers was a familiar refrain in the nation’s seemingly endless lamentation of racism and police brutality aimed at Black people.
Leer más »
What Black plays and comedy shows are running during Black History Month?From 'Snowville Cafe' to 'Affirmative Distraction,' there are plenty of engaging shows happening in February.
Leer más »