St. Petersburg sent the remains of Black pioneers to neighboring Gulfport during segregation. The local pastor overseeing Lincoln Cemetery said it continues “being punished.”
Mayor Ken Welch and city council members now want to annex the nearly century-old cemetery. Gulfport must first facilitate the process, and Rev. Clarence Williams can no longer afford to maintain and rebuild the flood-prone burial grounds.
However, the mayoral administration cannot allocate taxpayer funding to projects in another city. A committee meeting Dec. 4 highlighted the conundrum faced by council members who want to right past wrongs, and St. Petersburg-based Cross and Anvil Human Services, which took control of Lincoln Cemetery in 2023.
“This cemetery is being punished; first because African Americans couldn’t be buried in city limits,” Williams said. “Now we’re being punished because you can’t help them – because they are outside of the city limits.”
Williams is a pastor at Greater Mount Zion AME Church and also leads Cross and Anvil. The organization began overseeing Lincoln Cemetery after resolving an ownership dispute.
“We have carried this project on with my own private money, money from my organization and the church,” Williams said. “I don’t know why God asked me to do this. I wish I could give it back.”
Lincoln Cemetery opened in 1926 at 600 58th St. S. The interred include Civil War Veterans and other local historical figures.
St. Petersburg relocated Black residents buried at Moffett Cemetery, established in 1888 at the intersection of 16th and 5th Avenue South, when officials condemned and built over the site in the late 1920s. A municipal report found that 150 bodies went to Lincoln Cemetery.
The Black Cemetery Network, citing Pinellas Genealogy Society records, states that 236 mostly unknown St. Petersburg residents were reinterred in Gulfport. “And now you’ve abandoned them,” Williams said.
An Oct. 7 memo from Welch to council members notes that, as a Pinellas County Commissioner, he secured $92,000 for Cross and Anvil in 2018. The funding went toward literacy programs due to a subsequent, since-resolved title claim by a Gulfport resident.
Administrators provided an extensive timeline highlighting the city’s efforts to identify remains around what is now Tropicana Field and at Lincoln Cemetery. “There are 6,000 unmarked graves out there, and some of them are very deep,” Williams said.
In his memo, Welch noted that he had discussed the issue with current and former Gulfport mayors. He also supports annexing the cemetery.
“I support bringing the property back to the City of St. Petersburg and working with Cross and Anvil and other stakeholders to maintain the facility with the dignity it deserves,” Welch wrote.
“The property owner, St. Petersburg City Council and the City of Gulfport have distinct decision-making responsibilities in determining the path forward, and my administration looks forward to our collaboration on this important endeavor.”
Gulfport’s boundaries begin at the Pinellas Trail, which bifurcates Lincoln and Royal Palm cemeteries. St. Petersburg does not own or operate any burial grounds.
A city attorney explained that Gulfport must initiate the de-annexation process. Cross and Anvil could also petition the former city.
When asked if he would support annexation, Williams said he felt “wounded.” The process could take over a year, and the grass “grows every day.”
Over 30 trees fell at Lincoln Cemetery during the 2024 hurricane season. Williams said the perimeters are not secure, and the hallowed, disregarded property is rife with “vandalism and all sorts of things.”
“When the trees flipped over, the vaults came up, and we have to re-entomb those with dirt,” Williams added. “Some branches fell on vaults, broke them, and they’re open.”
While Williams does support annexation, his immediate concern is finding the money to survey and restore burial plots, construct a security fence, remove hazardous trees and complete routine maintenance.
He said the city should support those efforts “given the kind of egregious acts that necessitated this” and “given the fact that Cross and Anvil Human Services is in the city limits.”
Councilmember Corey Givens Jr. said the city “cannot afford to keep dragging this out,” when it costs Williams over $100,000 annually to maintain the cemetery. The administration remains unsure of a solution until it reclaims the property.
“We have to stop pussyfooting around and just do the right thing,” Givens said.
Councilmember Gina Driscoll asked Rui Farias, executive director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History, if he would consider partnering with Cross and Anvil. Farias said he looks forward to working with Williams.
Driscoll also directed city attorneys to draft a resolution urging Gulfport to begin the de-annexation process. Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders said she, like Givens, is “looking for something just a little bit more tangible right now.”
The committee passed Driscoll’s motion, which will now head to the full city council for a vote. Councilmember Richie Floyd suggested a future discussion on how the city could mitigate Cross and Anvil’s “overall financial burden” to help the organization reallocate resources.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
