In 2018, construction crews building a new school in Sugar Land, Texas discovered a long-forgotten cemetery containing 95 graves. Two years ago, we set out to tell the story of these 95 people-Who were they? What happened to them? In the process, we learned that theirs is a story about power-Who gets it and how they wield it.
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The Fort Bend Independent School District is set to start building a new school in the sweet city of Sugar Land, Texas. After years of planning, contractors finally break ground on the site. But the very next day, someone shows up with a warning: Be on the lookout for bodies.
As archeologists uncover more graves, a new person is added to the team. Catrina Banks Whitley specializes in studying human remains. And after a few months, she thinks she knows who these people might be.
The fight of the century is unfolding in Sugar Land. Should the bodies be moved so construction could continue, or should they be reburied where they were found? Alliances are made and broken, Reginald Moore leads a coup, and in the end, one side claims a clear victory.
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The fight over how to memorialize the Sugar Land 95 has taken its toll on activist Reginald Moore. As his health declines, momentum slows. Research on the cemetery is finally made public, and the findings aren’t just surprising — they’re unbelievable.
Fort Bend ISD says it’s not going to fund any more research on the Sugar Land 95, so a familiar group takes control. But is that group the best for the job? Plus, we start our own genealogical journey.
Four years after the cemetery was discovered, the Sugar Land 95 still haven’t been identified. The group in charge of researching their remains has made little progress but refuses to cede control. Is it conspiracy or negligence?
How did these 95 people end up in Sugar Land to begin with? How one man’s remarkable life and tragic death reveal the truth about convict leasing in Texas.
Thousands of people died under the convict lease system in Texas, and its effects can still be seen and felt today. Their descendants hope the truth leads to healing and understanding.