This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
Published on November 21, 2019, a shocking discovery was made at a Tampa high school in Florida. Approximately 145 coffins were found buried under the school grounds.
According to Tanya Arja, a school district spokeswoman, historical records indicate that the site could hold the remains of more than 250 people, nearly all of whom were African American.
The caskets are believed to be part of Ridgewood Cemetery, a historic paupers burial ground from the early 1940s that was owned by the city.
Arja stated that officials began investigating last month after a person informed a school board member of the possible location of the cemetery.
For nearly two weeks, technicians hired by the district used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the location of the caskets, which were reportedly buried 3-5 feet deep in about an acre of open land near a small building used by the school's agricultural program.
Yvette Lewis, President of the Hillsborough branch of the NAACP, expressed her sadness and frustration over the discovery, stating, 'I am sick of this. This hurts. Deeply. That we can be thrown away and nobody tells our history. Nobody is telling these people's history and these people's story.'
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner and the state's archeologists are expected to review the district's findings in the next 30 days, and will decide whether to take possession of the land or return it to the school district.
