City Forms Task Force To Ensure Proper Burial Of Historic Remains

From The City of Sugar Land

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS - Sugar Land City Manager Allen Bogard has appointed a task force that will provide a recommendation on the interment, memorialization and ceremonial funeral details of historical remains discovered on property owned by Fort Bend Independent School District earlier this year.

Officials said the city is working on a detailed agreement with the school district for the future relocation of skeletal remains to the city's Old Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery, 6440 Easton Ave.

The goal of the task force will be to ensure that the remains of the people discovered on the school district's property are memorialized with the utmost dignity and in a manner that honors their historical significance.

The task force will also provide a recommendation for future educational efforts to preserve a dark chapter of the region's history, according to a press release.

Those organizations invited to participate in this solemn endeavor include:

• City of Sugar Land
• Fort Bend Independent School District
• the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation
• the Fort Bend Historical Commission
• the Texas Historical Commission
• the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• the Houston Area Urban League
• the Fort Bend Church
• the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
• Embassy Church
• Rice University Professor Caleb McDaniel,
• Slavery by Another Name author Douglas Blackmon and members of the Sugar Land community.
• Reginald Moore, of the Texas Slave Descendants Society (a group now called the Convict Leasing and Labor Project).

"The cemetery was found because of Reginald Moore's advocacy and dedication to the history of convict lease labor in the area," said Bogard. "I can't stress enough the importance of our task force. It is important that it comprises diverse community stakeholders, and I believe we've accomplished this purpose. "We are very pleased to continue to have the historical expertise of Mr. Moore from the Convict Leasing and Labor Project. He has been a long-time advocate of memorialization and education concerning this dark period of the state's history. We believe that no one can speak 'for the bones' of these individuals with more passion and accuracy than Mr. Moore."

The creation of the task force was recommended by the Texas Historical Commission and emulates a successful strategy implemented by the city of Waco after an unmarked historical cemetery was discovered during a construction project in the west Texas town.

The Texas Historical Commission has requested the task force make a decision on DNA testing of the remains, officials said.

The task force will meet for six months with meetings held on the first and third Wednesday of each month for the first two months and then one Wednesday a month thereafter.

The first meeting will be held Sept. 5, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. North.

"The city of Sugar Land is an adjacent property owner, so we've closely monitored the ongoing developments and worked to establish a continued dialogue with all groups involved in the process," said First Assistant City Manager Steve Griffith.

The Fort Bend Independent School District will be responsible for the continued exhumation on their property; submitting a petition to the court for removal and reburial; funding costs associated with storage, new burial vessels, transportation, interment and security; and procurement and placement of temporary markers for each grave.

The city will fund costs associated with layout, design and location, as well as maintenance of the city's cemetery. While a funding source has not yet been identified, the city will also work with community groups to explore funding opportunities for future park development that will include walking paths, interpretive historical information and parking, surrounding the city-owned Old Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery.

The city will continue its coordination with the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation, a group established by the city to preserve and document the community's rich history - including the Old Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery on the city's property, officials said.

"Just as we've worked hard to honor and protect those buried at the Old Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery, the city has a common interest in ensuring that the remains discovered on the school district's property are memorialized with the utmost dignity and in a manner that honors their historical significance," said Griffith. "We look forward to facilitating a coordinated effort that achieves this purpose and meets the needs of our community and our partners."