CLEARWATER, Fla. — A newly-formed cemetery group says the city of Clearwater has not provided an adequate response to its request for a $10 million redress for grave relocations, memorials and a mausoleum to house burials from two erased African American cemeteries.
The 3C Society, which stands for the Clearwater Colored Cemeteries Society, made the request last year. It came after years of research and archaeological investigations revealed more than 300 graves from the St. Matthew’s Baptist Church Cemetery remain underground at the FrankCrum human resources firm along Missouri Avenue. This is in addition to at least 50 more from the North Greenwood Memorial Cemetery at the site of the shuttered Curtis Fundamental School at Holt and Engman.
Redevelopment destroyed both sites decades ago after city assurances all graves had been moved.
"That was a grave injustice. There are people-- here they were, disrespected when they were on top of the earth, now they're being disrespected up under the earth,” Diane Stephens said. "When does it stop?"
In a February letter 10 Investigates obtained, City Manager Jennifer Poirrer said Clearwater “is driven to identify a respectful and dignified path forward that honors those whose remains are buried on the sites in question.”
This includes using Community Redevelopment Agency funds for a memorial at the North Greenwood site, as well as helping identify other sources of funding.
However, the city said it does not wish to further disturb graves and could not address requests to move them due to active litigation.
That litigation came from FrankCrum, which filed suit against the city and the Clearwater CRA last year, “to recover damages for the local government’s failure to take accountability for mishandling a historic African American cemetery.”
The company recently dropped the city from the complaint, but co-president Matt Crum said in a statement to 10 Investigates, “Our legal efforts are continuing, and we are focusing on the CRA as the responsible party.”
The legal complaint states that the CRA erroneously said in a development agreement that the site “does not presently include human remains from any cemetery.”
As the lawsuit moves forward, Stephens said the 3C Society will continue pushing the city for action despite her frustration with a response she says does not fully address or remedy community concerns. “We've acted nicely and tried to negotiate fairly, but I feel as if it's fallen on a deaf ear,” she said.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.