In light of recent reports of vandalization at the cemetery, the city has enforced a curfew and enhanced security at the site.
By Zacharia Washington
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
The Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial, a Dallas historical landmark and burial site for the city’s African American population, was reportedly vandalized last week, community leaders and city officials have confirmed.
Local pastor, historian and activist Clarence Glover, who is also a member of the Dallas County Pioneer Association — which maintains municipal cemetery sites — said the organization initially contacted him about the vandalism.
“I cannot help but feel depressed and a bit angry about what I see now,” Glover told The Dallas Morning News last week. “It does have great sensitivity to those of us who are African American, because [a] sacred spot — in this case, a burial [ground] — has been desecrated.”
Glover said the desecration of the site happened early Oct. 1, with historical documentations and markers as well as plaques with poems being “forcibly” removed and torn down.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Later that evening, Glover said it was reported to him that crews with the city of Dallas temporarily removed the plaques for cleaning — making the initial report of vandalism out to be a false alarm.
However, a preliminary investigation by Dallas police later confirmed that “multiple suspects were seen entering the cemetery without permission and removing several plaques off of gravesites” around 1:30 a.m.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
In light of the recent reports and “out of respect for the sanctity of the site,” the city’s park and recreation department has since enforced a curfew and enhanced security at the cemetery, according to a Friday memo from city officials.
According to the memo, the cemetery will now be closed daily from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. to prevent unauthorized access, and there will be increased monitoring and surveillance conducted by the Dallas Park Marshals and Park Rangers.
The Dallas site, located in Uptown off of North Central Expressway, is one of the largest freedman’s cemeteries in the country, according to the city’s website.
A local artist, David Newton, created sculptures — which were achieved in two phases in 2000 and 2011 — that represent slaves for the Freedman’s Cemetery memorial. Glover said the sculptures were not touched in last week’s vandalism, however.
The Freedman’s Cemetery has been a significant part of Dallas’ history for over a century, after being established as a burial ground for the city’s early African American population in 1861, according to the city’s website. The cemetery’s original site was bisected by the construction of Central Expressway in the 1940s.
The historic site was rediscovered during excavations for the widening of North Central Expressway in the 1990s. The site was first believed to contain fewer than 100 graves, but the number rose to about 1,100 plots. More were unearthed. Officials later found that more than 2,000 enslaved people and freed slaves were buried there.
In the 1990s, a memorial was built to commemorate the cemetery and to honor the contributions made by African Americans toward the growth and development of Dallas, the website said.
While the motive behind the vandalization is still being investigated, Glover said it does “have implications for being racial, because of the nature of the cemetery.” However, there hasn’t yet been any concrete information to support this thought.“There’s some healing that will have to come out of this, because it’s a sensitive issue,” he said.
City officials said in the memo that the city will also be working on long-term actions to further safeguard the sacred and historic site.
“Dallas Park and Recreation is actively collaborating with the Office of Arts and Culture, law enforcement, and community stakeholders to develop a comprehensive long-term strategy to prioritize plaque replacements, preservation, and security to ensure that this site receives the reverence and protection it deserves,” officials said.
Zacharia Washington is a breaking news reporter with The Dallas Morning News. A graduate of Huston-Tillotson University and The University of Texas at Austin, Zacharia lived in Austin for several years before coming back to Dallas, her hometown, in 2024. She previously worked as a local government reporter for Community Impact.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
