Note: Tampa’s Italian club destroyed cemetery

TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa City Council member Gwen Henderson says a text message from a trusted source proves that a parking lot at the Italian Club Cemetery is still a cemetery today.

According to the City of Tampa Archives and Records Department, the site contained gravesites that were part of the College Hill Cemetery.

Henderson says after processing the information, she passed it on to the Tampa Bay Times, a partner of Spectrum Bay News 9.

“I had a duty as a city councilor because I’m not afraid. I don’t owe anyone anything. It was easy for me to at least join the discussion and say, ‘Hey, I heard what the citizens are saying,'” Henderson said.

In the partially redacted message, Henderson said the person detailed how a leader of the Italian Club of Tampa admitted to building a parking lot where the predominantly African-American and Cuban cemetery used to be.

Anonymous information shared with Council Member Gwen Henderson. (Paul Guzzo/Tampa Bay Times)

“It essentially indicated a conversation with a person who had worked with them and said they would take this information to the grave,” Henderson said. “When the Italian Club parking lot was being built or dug, tombstones were flying everywhere.”

It was devastating for the descendants of those once buried here to hear of this. Angela Alderman Wynn’s great uncle was buried in College Hill Cemetery.

“We need to know where they are. And they’re not releasing their scan results, so that tells me that either anomalies came up and they found something, or nothing came up and they have to explain where they took 1,200 bodies,” she said. “For me, there will be no full closure and healing without knowing where these souls are. It’s no longer about my great uncle. It’s about 122 people who are now family in my heart.”

The results of the ground-penetrating radar at the Italian Club of Tampa Cemetery have still not been made available to the public.

Spectrum Bay News 9 contacted the Italian Club about the text message tip but did not receive a response.

They told the Times that it was “difficult to respond to an unnamed source who provided no evidence.” Their statement added: “We would definitely not move headstones.”

The city council plans to continue this conversation and push for answers at a future meeting.