TAMPA, Fla. — The once-forgotten Zion Cemetery has always remained at heart for Jeraldine Williams.
She's a direct descendant of someone buried at Zion.
“That's my blood that's out there,” said Williams. “Those bones represent who I am."
WATCH: Community advocates continue to call for action over Zion Cemetery in Tampa
It's a story ABC Action News has followed for years.
Just this past February, the community witnessed the dedication of the Zion Cemetery historical marker, standing as a symbol of remembrance and justice for Tampa’s first African American burial ground.
"100 years ago, this was a cemetery for over 800 black people,” said Fred Hearns, the President of the Zion Cemetery Preservation and Maintenance Society. “In the late 1920s, people in the city of Tampa, city officials, as well as private folk who had money, got that property and converted it into commercial and residential property on top of these black graves."
Hearns, Williams, and other people in the community spoke directly to the Tampa City Council on Thursday, frustrated with a lack of progress and what some neighbors said were promises made that haven't been kept.
“The community needs to know and recognize, acknowledge its history, and Zion Cemetery is part of that history, a very significant part of that history,” said Williams.
Hearns said advocates are requesting $8 million from the city to fund a memorial and research center at the Zion property.
"The graves are there, and we need to respect them. We need to make sure that there's a site where people can come have silence, have prayer, have ceremonies, have gatherings of families,” said Hearns. “This also could be something that I think would be very good for the city of Tampa when this memorial site is created.”
During the meeting, the city's Chief of Staff addressed the issue.
"This city will give a full-throated update as soon as the motion lands, and we’ll make sure everybody’s fully aware,” said John Bennett. “But I can tell you there's nothing that I'm aware of with our staff that is doing anything but supporting this to land how it's supposed to be."
It's a step forward for many in the community, with neighbors saying the time is now to make sure people buried get the respect they deserve.
"I am just pleased to be hopeful,” said Williams.
"I have confidence that the city of Tampa is going to figure this out,” said Hearns. “A lot of smart people work in this building and the building next door. We need $8 million. Let's make it happen, and let's do it now."
"He just never showed up"
What started as a project to make a bathroom more accessible for 80-year-old Sharon Shomaker turned into a family paying for a job without seeing any work and discovering the plumber they hired had no business taking the job.
