\u201cI cannot help but feel depressed and a bit angry about what I see now,\u201d Glover told The Dallas Morning News last week. \u201cIt does have great sensitivity to those of us who are African American, because [a] sacred spot \u2014 in this case, a burial [ground] \u2014 has been desecrated.\u201d <\/p>\n
Glover said the desecration of the site happened early Oct. 1, with historical documentations and markers as well as plaques with poems being \u201cforcibly\u201d removed and torn down.<\/p>\n
Crime in The News<\/p>\n
By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Clarence Glover, former SMU professor of African American studies, shows the wall where a plaque was placed before at Freedman’s Cemetery, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Dallas. The Cemetery was vandalized, with its plaques ripped and stolen from the wall. <\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Later that evening, Glover said it was reported to him that crews with the city of Dallas temporarily removed the plaques for cleaning<\/a> \u2014 making the initial report of vandalism out to be a false alarm. <\/p>\n However, a preliminary investigation by Dallas police<\/a> later confirmed that \u201cmultiple suspects were seen entering the cemetery without permission and removing several plaques off of gravesites\u201d around 1:30 a.m. <\/p>\n Police said the investigation is ongoing. <\/p>\n In light of the recent reports and \u201cout of respect for the sanctity of the site,\u201d the city\u2019s park and recreation department has since enforced a curfew and enhanced security at the cemetery, according to a Friday memo from city officials. <\/p>\n According to the memo, the cemetery will now be closed daily from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. to prevent unauthorized access, and there will be increased monitoring and surveillance conducted by the Dallas Park Marshals and Park Rangers.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n The Dallas site, located in Uptown<\/a> off of North Central Expressway, is one of the largest freedman\u2019s cemeteries in the country, according to the city\u2019s website<\/a>. <\/p>\n A local artist, David Newton, created sculptures \u2014 which were achieved in two phases in 2000 and 2011 \u2014 that represent slaves for the Freedman\u2019s Cemetery memorial<\/a>. Glover said the sculptures were not touched in last week\u2019s vandalism, however.<\/p>\n The Freedman\u2019s Cemetery has been a significant part of Dallas\u2019 history for over a century, after being established as a burial ground for the city\u2019s early AfricanAmerican population in 1861, according to the city\u2019s website<\/a>. The cemetery\u2019s original site was bisected by the construction of Central Expressway in the 1940s. <\/p>\n The historic site was rediscovered during excavations for the widening of North Central Expressway in the 1990s. The site was first believed to contain fewer than 100 graves, but the number rose to about 1,100 plots. More were unearthed. Officials later found that more than 2,000 enslaved people and freed slaves were buried there.<\/p>\n![\"Clarence](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4NTEYZ2L5JE4VDV5XPIZV5A5TI.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RFJNH3H25GHRDXX7SQYIVQQWQU.jpg\")
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