TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa City Council member Gwen Henderson says a text message from a trusted source proves a parking lot for the Italian Club Cemetery, is still a cemetery today.
What You Need To Know
- In a partially redacted text message to Tampa City Council memeber Gwen Henderson, an anonymous person details how a leader from the Italian Club of Tampa admitted to putting a parking lot where College Hill Cemetery once was
- Results from the ground penetrating radar at the sit still haven’t been released to the public
- City leaders plan to continue this conversation and press for answers in an upcoming meeting
According to the City of Tampa’s Archives and Records Department, plots belonging to College Hill Cemetery existed on that land.
Henderson says once she digested the information, she handed it over to the Tampa Bay Times, a partner of Spectrum Bay News 9.
“I had a duty as a council woman because I’m not afraid. I don’t owe anyone anything. It was easy for me to at least be a part of the conversation and say hey, I heard what the citizens are saying,” Henderson said.
In the partially redacted message Henderson said the person details how a leader from the Italian Club of Tampa admitted to putting a parking lot where the mostly African American and Cuban cemetery once was.
“It basically indicated a conversation with a person that worked with them, saying they would take this information to their grave,” said Henderson. “That when the parking lot at the Italian Club was being built, or dug up, that there were tombstones flying all over the place.”
It was devastating to hear for descendants of those once buried there. Angela Alderman Wynn’s great uncle was buried in the College Hill Cemetery.
“We need to know where they’re at. And they’re not releasing their scan results, so that tells me either anomalies came up and they found something or nothing showed up and they have to explain where they moved 1,200 bodies,” she said. “To me, you won’t have full closure and healing without knowing where those souls are. It is not about my great uncle anymore. It’s about 122 people who in my heart are now family.”
The results from the ground penetrating radar at the Italian Club of Tampa Cemetery still haven’t been released to the public.
Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to the Italian Club about the text message tip, but we haven’t heard back.
They did tell Times’ that it was “difficult to respond to an unnamed source who didn’t provide evidence.” Their statement goes on to say, “There is no way we would be moving grave markers.”
City leaders plan to continue this conversation and press for answers in an upcoming meeting.