Programs

Historic Justice Programs

Florida Burial Practices in the Era of Jim Crow  

The re-discovery of two African American cemeteries in Tampa in 2019 prompted the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners to question how cemeteries were erased from the visible landscape and whether there were additional unmarked cemeteries on County property. The purpose of this on-going investigation is to:  

  1. Research, identify, and locate all possible cemeteries and burial grounds falling into the 鈥淟ost and Abandoned Cemetery鈥� category; 
  2. Identify African American and Afro-Cuban cemeteries that may have been obfuscated from the record during the Jim Crow Era; and  
  3. Provide recommendations for verifying the contemporary existence of cemeteries located and recommendations for developing Preservation and Memorialization plans.  

IMPERATIVE JUSTICE: BOOT HILL BURIAL GROUND 

RESEARCHING THE LIVES AND DEATHS OF CHILDREN BURIED AT THE FORMER AUTHOR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS 

The ways in which children experienced the criminal justice system prior to the professionalization of law enforcement criminal investigations, corrections, and juvenile justice during the mid-twentieth century was often tragic. The story of children in Florida鈥檚 correctional system is a reflection of the changing attitudes, laws, and practices towards children within these systems.