Ever since she helped establish the nonprofit that oversees the Whispering Souls African American Cemetery Restoration Project seven years ago, Jacqueline Hayes knew the fight to revitalize the rundown, century-plus-old graveyard established for the area’s Black residents would be an uphill battle.
“It was tough at first,” Hayes said of being perceived as an outsider from out of state coming into tiny Safety Harbor and trying to effect meaningful change following decades of stagnation.
“There was a lot of pushback in the community.”
But the battle bore fruit June 20 when a $100,000 granite monument was installed at the cemetery.
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