West Palm Beach Launches 15-Month Rescue of Historic Black Cemetery

West Palm Beach has launched a 12-to-15-month preservation and documentation project at Evergreen Cemetery, a historic burial ground established by Black civic leaders more than a century ago. The city announced the initiative this week, marking a significant step to restore and honor the site's heritage.

Evergreen Cemetery, founded in the early 1900s, serves as the final resting place for many of West Palm Beach's early Black residents and community leaders. The project will involve cleaning, repairing, and cataloging graves, as well as creating a digital record of the cemetery's history. City officials emphasized the importance of preserving this often-overlooked piece of local history, noting that the cemetery has faced years of neglect and environmental challenges.

The preservation effort is expected to have broad implications for the community, fostering a deeper understanding of the city's African American heritage and contributing to ongoing conversations about racial equity and historical memory. Local historians and descendants of those buried at Evergreen have praised the move, while city officials plan to seek community input and potentially additional funding to ensure the project's success. Next steps include archaeological surveys and the development of a long-term maintenance plan.