Sugar Land remains to be honored at vigil
Ceremony for 95 found at construction site will be followed by a private burial service
The remains of 95 AfricanAmericans discovered at a Sugar Land construction site last year will be honored in a public ceremony this month.
The vigil, scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 17, will be held at the James Reese Career and Technical Center, on the same site where the remains were discovered. The “Blessing the Ground” ceremony is expected to feature several performances and a candlelight walk, according to a press release from Fort Bend ISD. In the days and weeks following the ceremony, a private burial service will occur, the news release said.
The remains are believed to be part of the convict-leasing system, where prisoners were contracted out to perform cheap labor across the state. Their discovery in 2018 drew national attention and gripped the surrounding community.
“This has been an unprecedented journey for Fort Bend ISD, and the time has now come for us to lay the Sugar Land 95 to rest,”
Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Charles Dupre said in a written statement. “These 95 souls suffered a grave injustice during their time on earth, but we remain committed to ensuring that their lives are not forgotten, and that our students will learn about this part of our history for generations to come.”
Despite the steps forward, some community members implored the district during a September school board meeting to oppose a contract with a funeral home for the memorial service. School board members still voted to pay Missouri City Funeral Directors at Glen Park $284,375 to rebury the remains. Some community members have been upset since a deal between Fort Bend County and the school district surrounding the 95 seemed to unravel.
Originally, the school district was going to pay the county $1 million and convey part of the cemetery for re-interment of the remains and an additional 10 acres of land for a memorial park. A bill signed into law in June would authorize the county to operate the cemetery. However, the school district has since shifted course, withdrawing the payment offer.
The breakdown stemmed from a split over the need for continued court oversight of the process. County officials want the courts involved, but Dupre, the superintendent, said the school district believes this would drag out the process and add to the financial costs incurred by taxpayers. The deal between the two parties remains in limbo.
Reginald Moore, an advocate who originally warned the school district that it would find remains if it began construction at the site, also expressed his dismay about the situation during the meeting.
“They’re being treated today in death the way they were treated when they were alive,” Moore told the school board.
On Friday, an attorney for Moore delivered a cease-and-desist letter to Fort Bend ISD’s attorney, Robert Scamardo, according to a news release from the Convict
Leasing and Labor Project. The letter orders the school district not to use materials depicting Moore or created by him. Moore’s image and footage of him were used without his permission in a Sept. 17 district video about the Sugar Land 95 posted to YouTube, according to the letter. The school district had planned to use images and recordings of Moore in the public ceremony honoring the remains if he declined to attend the event, the release stated.
“We consider any such use exploitation of him to further FBISD’s continued attempts to destroy the history of the Sugar Land 95 and prevent any meaningful oversight of their actions from the community or the courts,” the letter states.
Moore also stated in the news release he will not attend the public ceremony honoring the remains as a result of the school district’s actions.
“Though our hearts and efforts will continue to be with the Sugar Land 95 and their descendants, we cannot give FBISD’s efforts the veneer of legitimacy by participating further in any of their events related to the Sugar Land 95,” Moore said.