PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Descendants of a historically black cemetery in Pinellas County said many graves have been lost over the years. They're now asking for help from local leaders to find and identify them.
On many days in Lincoln Cemetery in Gulfport, it's quiet, but every once in a while, you can hear the sound of one woman rustling through dirt and grass.
Watch full report from Casey Albritton
Tomeeka Wright does something no parent should ever have to—she spends time looking for her son's grave. He died at eight months old.
"We arrived at the ER and they took over and they had told me he had already gone through the night and had passed," said Wright.
She used to visit her son's grave, until last year's storms caused many of the headstones to be moved.
"It was bush everywhere, trees were uprooted, coffins were out of the ground, I mean, it looked like a war zone," she said.
Cross and Anvil Human Services have been maintaining the historically black cemetery and have made significant progress since the storms. Cemetery managers rely on private donations to maintain the property, but that funding is dwindling.
Tomeeka believes the City of St. Pete would maintain the property better and help her find her son's grave.
The cemetery was initially owned and managed by the City of St. Pete until the property was annexed into Gulfport in the 1960s.
Soon, St. Pete and Gulfport leaders will be having conversations about possibly re-annexing the cemetery back into St. Pete.
It's something St. Pete City Council Member, Corey Givens Jr., is pushing for.
"If we were to annex this property, we'd be able to spend money to actually provide maintenance on this property," said Givens Jr.
He said when the development of Tropicana Field happened, many bodies were removed from Moffit, Evergreen and Oaklawn Cemeteries, and then were dumped into one massive grave in Lincoln.
"It's very important that we as a city, as elected officials do a deeper dive into the history of this cemetery, that we provide dignity to the people who were buried here," said Givens Jr.
For Councilmember Givens, it's personal. He wants to help identify loved ones…and protect three generations of his own family who are buried on the property, but the City of St. Pete won't spend money on identification efforts until it's re-annexed.
"My family is buried here and the last thing I want to do is lose them to history," said Givens Jr.
Gulfport Mayor Karen Love said she's open to discussing the annexation with the City of St. Pete.
Until then, Tomeeka continues to hold onto hope that she will find her son's grave.
"I would love it. It would make me feel so accomplished for his life and his death," said Tomeeka.
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