In 2018, the remains of 95 African Americans — 94 men and one believed to have been a woman — were found during the construction of a technical school in Sugar Land.
The discovery drew national news coverage and calls for a proper memorial, research into the convicts’ lives and broader education about convict leasing.
The few public testaments to the lives of these people — known as the Sugar Land 95 — include some references on the city’s website and in local museums, and a small exhibit in a Sugar Land school hallway.
Sugar Land officials initially offered to move the remains to a city-owned cemetery, but the proposal failed to win public support and they have since dropped out of discussions.
Fort Bend County, which includes Sugar Land, set aside $4 million in 2020 to build a park around the remains, but has since reduced that commitment to $1.5 million.
Persons:
’
Organizations:
Americans
Locations:
Sugar Land, Fort Bend County