Hurricane of 1928 African American Mass Burial Site (Pauper's Cemetery)
Site Brief:
Founded: 1913
Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Additional name(s): N/A
Affiliate group(s): Storm of ’28 Memorial Park Coalition Inc.
History:
Located in the northeast corner of Pauper’s Cemetery, the 1928 Hurricane African American Mass Burial Site is the final resting place for about 674 Black victims of the 1928 hurricane. Although unofficial burials began at Pauper’s Cemetery around 1913, this mass grave honors the migrant workers who lost their lives in one of America’s worst natural disasters. Documented in Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, these victims were denied proper burials and dumped in an unmarked trench, while 60 white victims of the same storm were buried in coffins at Woodlawn Cemetery. The site was later neglected for decades as a garbage dump and industrial area. It is now a place of memory, healing, and honoring Black migrant workers, with efforts by organizations like the Storm of '28 Memorial Park Coalition. They work to preserve the burial site, promote healing, and educate the public on the victims' contributions. After lobbying the city to purchase the mass grave site, the site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and received a state historical marker in 2003.
BCN Contact Information:
Dorothy and Robert Hazard