At the back of a cemetery in Mineola, there’s a dividing line symbolically and physically between the “White” and “Black” sides of the Cedars Memorial Gardens, formerly known as the Mineola City Cemetery.
“There was a funeral that was held this weekend,” City Manager Mercy Rushing said. “I came back to work on Monday morning and I had an email from a former Mineola student, and they had buried a classmate. And they were very upset that there was still that, you know, fence that's been there for, I don't know, for as long as I can remember, for the last 25 years I’ve been here.”
That wasn’t the first time the topic of removing the fence has been discussed Rushing said, but this time there are conversations of racial injustice and equality taking place across the country.
"Now we've been integrated, for 50-60 years and the fence is still that symbol to us, kind of like all other symbols have been taken down like the statues and all of that, the flag,” Mineola resident Carlist Brinkley, said. “I think that's what this equates to for Mineola citizens.”
However, despite the cemetery’s once being named after Mineola, the city has never owned it, which Rushing explained is a common misconception. After speaking to the Cedars Memorial Gardens Board, which takes care of the “white” side and two local pastors who manage the “black” side, it seemed the timing was finally right to remove the fence.
"They said, ‘yeah, let's do it. Let's do it tomorrow [Tuesday],’” Rushing said.“I didn't realize it was going to rain as heavy as it was.”
Worried about equipment getting stuck, the fence’s removal has been postponed to sometime next week.
“It's going to be a historic day when we start to really start taking down some of that fence and I want to make sure the whole community is involved,” Rushing said.
Community members as well as city and county leaders still gathered Tuesday morning at the back of the cemetery to share the excitement about the significance its removal will have.
“I’m out here to let my granddaughters know some history,” Melinda Winnett said. “They’ll be able to see this done, it means a lot to us. There’s going to be rejoice when that fence comes down.”