Slave Cemetery Bulldozed Over, Families Baffled

A cemetery for slaves has been bulldozed over. Bradshaw Cemetery was a resting place for slaves, murder victims and African Americans who fought in wars but never received a proper burial.

Now it’s gone.

News92FM reported that heavy equipment bulldozed over the cemetery on Monday. The move shocked locals and others with family buried in plots there.

“I don’t want to see my grandmother dug up out of the ground,” said Jeremy Nelloms. “There’s no way. I’d die before I’d let that happen.”

The cemetery is clearly marked on Rand McNally and Key maps, though it does not appear on Google or Apple Maps. It does appear on Google Streetview. One website calls it a “small cemetery in disrepair.”

The family confronted the people operating the equipment, but was unable to find out what organization they worked for, or if they would return. It’s possible that the crew was working on the wrong site or didn’t know that it was a cemetery. The website linked above describes it as overgrown.

Either way, the end result was tremendously disrespectful and illegal to boot.

Trevia Wooster Beverly of the Harris County Historical Commission said it is illegal to plow over graves.

“He had better stop and do some investigation because he could be in some bad trouble if he keeps on,” Beverly said.

by Kyle Nazario

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