Thursday March 28th, 2024 12:48PM

Gainesville dedicates memorial to more than 1,100 African American citizens buried in historic Alta Vista Cemetery

By B.J. Williams

Hundreds of small pink flags dot the back section of Gainesville's historic Alta Vista Cemetery, marking burial sites for African American citizens who went largely unrecognized until a ceremony Sunday afternoon.

Late last year, thanks to ground penetrating sonar, city officials discovered remains of 1,146 citizens, most thought to be some of the early African American residents of Gainesville. After the discovery, the Gainesville Public Works Department asked for - and received - in a budget request money to construct a memorial to those unknown residents.

Private entities also came forward, offering monies to enhance the memorial site in Sections 16 and 17 at the back of the historic cemetery. 

Sunday's ceremony included music and prayer and words of appreciation to everyone who made the Memorial Garden a reality.

Each of the graves is now marked with a silver disc. 

The garden is centered with a black granite obelisk engraves with the words, "This memorial stands as our testament that these citizens are important to this community and we embrace them as our own." The obelisk is surrounded by six granite benches, contributed by private groups in Gainesville. 

This story will be updated.

Editor's note: Listen to WDUN's Afternoon News Wrap on Monday, Oct. 23 to learn more about this part of Alta Vista Cemetery's history. 

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