As many as 121 unmarked graves in a former Black cemetery have been found at a US Air Drive base in Florida, navy officers confirmed.
A non-intrusive archaeological survey carried out over the previous two years at MacDill Air Drive Base in Tampa recognized 58 possible graves and 63 potential graves, base officers mentioned Thursday, WFTS-TV reported. The Tampa Bay Historical past Heart notified MacDill officers in regards to the potential Black cemetery in 2019, and the bottom hosted a memorial service in 2021, dedicating a memorial on-site to these buried there.
“We all know clearly there was improper finished previously, however we’re working along with our neighborhood members,” base spokesperson Lt. Laura Anderson mentioned. “We wish to make what was improper proper.”
Officers mentioned they plan to increase the search space this yr and can proceed to work with the neighborhood to find out learn how to finest doc the location and to pay respect to the folks buried there.
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