ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The historic African American Lincoln Cemetery in Gulfport is in the middle of a back-and-forth with two cities, a serious financial need and a big question about who should provide the help they are asking for.
What You Need To Know
Lincoln Cemetery in the city of Gulfport is a final resting place for thousands of people
Pastor Clerence Williams said that the location of the historic African American burial ground is just one of the many issues there
Gulfport leaders discussed the possibility of the de-annexation of Lincoln Cemetery from Gulfport and the annexation of the property to the city of St. Pete
It’s a topic city leaders are working to get to the bottom of, but the owners of the cemetery said he wants help while these discussions are taking place.
Lincoln Cemetery in the city of Gulfport is a final resting place for thousands of people. Pastor Clarence Williams leads Cross and Anvil Human Services, which owns Lincoln Cemetery. He said that the location of the historic African American burial ground is just one of the many issues there.
“I think where the city is located is nothing but smoke and mirrors,” he said. “What about doing what’s right? These cemeteries exist because of the egregious nature of Jim Crow, which would not allow Black people to be buried in the same cemetery with whites.”
Williams said this is a conversation that has gone on for years with Gulfport and St. Pete. Now, new questions are being raised about changing the city the cemetery is in.
“I think this whole annexation has merit. It’s probably a good long-term solution,” he said. “But you know what, sometimes you need to reconcile the wrongs of the past before you get to a future plan.”
Williams spoke out about this in a meeting with St. Pete city leaders earlier this month.
Days later at a Gulfport City Council meeting, leaders discussed the possibility of the de-annexation of Lincoln Cemetery from Gulfport and the annexation of the property to the city of St. Pete.
“I’m still somewhat of the belief of — until he tells me — the owner of the property, ‘I’d like to be de-annexed,’ it seems it would be silly to have that conversation without that directly to me,” said Gulfport Mayor Karen Love.
Next year will mark a hundred years since Lincoln Cemetery was established here. And while property owners and the city boundaries have changed during that time, Williams said the need has never changed. The question he is left with is this: Will requesting annexation to be changed from city of Gulfport to the City of St. Pete result in more help at the cemetery?
“My answer is C. Both. Both of them have a vested interest. Where the cemetery is located is a farce,” he said.
St. Pete officials said they can’t help with the funding Williams is asking for if the cemetery is located inside another city.
“What about the human element, you can get past the laws and the courts,” Williams said. “There are people out there. There’s a name. This is not some oak tree. There’s a name, they contributed and made St. Pete what it is.”
Williams said he has a meeting with Gulfport officials next week, but he has made it clear he wants help from everyone to preserve the final resting place of the people who he says helped build these same cities.