‘We have chosen action’: First Black cemetery in Tarrant County is rededicated
The first Black cemetery in Tarrant County, home to the remains of more than 500 veterans, was rededicated on Veterans Day after a months-long restoration effort.
The New Trinity Cemetery, located near the intersection of Northeast 28th and Beach streets in Haltom City, has existed since the 1880s, said Chad Page, the commander of American Legion Post 655.
At the time it was the only cemetery in the county where Black people could be buried, Page said.
It later became the final resting place for veterans of both World Wars, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War, said Kyev Tatum, a Fort Worth pastor affiliated with the restoration project.
Tatum initially visited the cemetery in an attempt to locate the grave of Florence Marie Rawls, an Army veteran who served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II.
In order to find Rawls’ grave, Tatum said he started at one corner of the cemetery and walked through, row by row.
“We were kicking over weeds and things so we could read ... it appeared as if every other marker was a marker of someone who had served in the United States military,” Tatum said.
Rawls and other members of the “Six Triple Eight” were honored at Tuesday’s rededication ceremony.
Later on, Page contacted Tatum about the possibility of beginning restoration work on the cemetery, Tatum said.
Restoration work on the project was conducted by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office’s Labor Detail Unit, Deputy Kelley Jenkins said.
The program allows people convicted of crimes in the county to serve their sentences through manual labor instead of jail time, Jenkins said.
Prior to the large-scale restoration project, members of the program came to the cemetery twice a year to clean up patches at a time, Page said. Jenkins was the one to collect research and sell the idea of a more comprehensive restoration effort.
One man who worked on the restoration was so proud of his work, Jenkins said, that he later returned with his children to show them.
In the future, Page and Tatum said they hope other community members will step up to keep the restoration effort going.
“Is it enough to stand for the anthem and sit for the story?” Page said. “Or do we owe something more, something that looks like action, like service, remembrance that rolls up its sleeves? Here at New Trinity, we have chosen action.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 9:58 PM.
