Dallas Police investigate the removal of historical plaques from Freedman’s Cemetery, with confusion over whether they were stolen or taken for cleaning.
DALLAS — “You see that? The cross,” said Clarence Glover, a former SMU professor of African American studies, as he walked through Freedman’s Cemetery. He pointed out the layout to David Malcolm McGruder, executive pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church.
“It is designed so we can come here and have a ceremony, worship,” Glover told him. “We’re going to teach you. Now, it’s time for your generation.”
McGruder said the cemetery shows how history still lives where Dallas’ early Black community rests. He called Freedmen’s “sacred ground.”
“This is the site where African American men and women, after slavery and during Jim Crow, were buried,” Glover said.
The cemetery has been disrupted before—first when the North Central Expressway was built and later lowered. Now, decades later, it faces another violation.
“The plaques outside, the maps, the historical markers, the poems are gone,” Glover said.
Dallas police said they got a call around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, reporting that several people had entered the cemetery without permission and removed plaques from gravesites.
“Grief. This is our history. These are our ancestors. These are the builders of Dallas,” said Glover.
There’s also confusion because Glover and WFAA spoke with the cemetery’s sculptor, who said he was told the plaques were taken for cleaning. A sign in the cemetery said the plaques are being refurbished, but many residents told WFAA that the sign has been there for years. Dallas Parks and Recreation takes care of the cemetery. The department said they are trying to find the plaques, too.
“One of our maintenance supervisors was in the field and they did notice that some plaques had been missing or were missing,” said M. Renee Johnson, Dallas Parks and Recreation Deputy Director. “We will work with the stakeholders of this location to ensure that these plaques are replaced.”
Dr. Ed Gray, with the Dallas County Justice Initiative, said this incident sounds too familiar. “We just can’t get a break,” said Dr. Gray.
He said the plaques missing at Freedmen’s Cemetery come after the historical marker remembering the lynching of Allen Brooks was vandalized downtown in July and again in September.
“These attacks have to end,” said Dr. Gray. “It’s not right, but it is symbolic of what is happening in America today.”
While police continue their investigation, Glover continues passing down the history to members of the next generation, such as McGruder.
“Institutional memory is important. Public memory is important, and these places and spaces are designed to maintain public memory,” said McGruder. “In many ways it’s symbolic of what’s happening across the country, Black history being taken apart piece by piece, so that the whole of the American story does not have to be told…All of Dallas should be in distress and should be in despair because this is again our history.”
Dallas Police said they have not made any arrests yet, but their investigation is ongoing.
Following the incident, Freedman’s Cemetery is closed daily from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily “to prevent unauthorized access,” according to a city memo. According to the memo, there will also be increased monitoring and surveillance conducted by the Dallas Park Marshals and Park Rangers.
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