Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 10-22-19

Feature
New Black Cemetery May Be On High School Property
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, the Hillsbor- ough County School District learned of a possible African American cemetery on the property of or near King High School. In response to this in- formation, a portion of the school has been roped off.
Ms. Tanya Arja,
spokesperson for the Hillsbor- ough County School District said, that on Wednesday, the District will have a radar scan conducted to determine if there are any anomalies on the property.
She further stated that the District has obtained docu- ments about the property that provide conflicting informa- tion.
An unidentified citizen contacted Ms. Tamara Shamburger, Chairperson of the Hillsborough County
School District. The citizen be- lieves an unmarked cemetery for indigent African Ameri- cans may have existed in the area near King High School.
The District has obtained and reviewed documents in-
cluding an appraisal and deeds, aerial maps and histor- ical county and school records—have conflicting in- formation.
The area where the com- munity member believes this
cemetery may be located is used for agricultural programs at the school. Temporary fenc- ing has been placed around this area to prevent students and staff from going into the area until more information is
gathered.
Ms. Arja further stated
that the District has gathered information from the deed and the appraisal from 1959.
On page 3 of the appraisal on the last paragraph it al- ludes to the Potter’s Field beign 470 feet east of the school’s property.
However, in another sec- tion of the deed in the first paragraph, it states the Dis- trict will assume all legal re- sponsibility for the care and maintenance of the pauper cemetery. But it does not de- tail the location of the pauper cemetery.
“This is a top priority for our district now. We intend to show the highest level of re- spect for the individuals who may be buried in this ceme- tery and their descendants. We will provide updates as we have more information,” she said.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3