Descendants of the deceased at an Irving slave cemetery complained Thursday that the place was desecrated this week by a ‘for sale’ sign posted on the cemetery fence.
It happened at the Shelton’s Bear Creek Cemetery along State Highway 161 between Airport Freeway and Conflans Road.
One of Jammie Simmon’s ancestors is buried in the slave cemetery.
“That was bad enough to be owned, to work for nothing. And then get a final place to rest and it gets disgraced, disrespected with a ‘for sale’ sign put up. It’s bad,” said Simon.
The sign said “Beautiful Waterfront Lake Lots For Sale” with a phone number to call for information.
“It’s desecration. It’s total disrespect and it’s just not allowable,” Irving activist Anthony Bond said.
Bond has worked for many years to preserve the slave burial ground.
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The cemetery property is owned by the people who also own land around it and there is a small lake on that property.
Co-owner Blake Bloomfield said he only intended to use the cemetery fence as an advertising location on the busy highway.
“I didn’t think it would bother anybody. But as soon as I found out about it, I got it down. We don’t want to offend anybody,” Bloomfield said.
Bond said he heard a different response when he complained to Bloomfield about the fence.
“His exact words, ‘this is my cemetery.’ He said, ‘I can sell it and do with it what I want,’” Bond said.
Bond and Simon said community leaders have been working to form a Shelton Bear Creek Cemetery Association that could take on maintenance and ownership.
“All we want to do is get whatever problem we’re having with the cemetery solved so we can move on and our ancestors can rest in peace,” said Simon.
Bloomfield told NBC 5 that he knows the land must always remain a cemetery and cannot be developed, even if he does hold a title to it.
“We can’t do anything with it,” he said.
Bloomfield agreed it might be best to transfer the property. Bond said supporters are working harder than ever to see that the slave burial ground is protected.
“They’re depending on us to preserve their final resting place and until I die I’m going to do everything I can to do that,” Bond said.
