In Tallahassee, Florida, a proposal to sell a city-owned golf course has ignited a wave of public outrage due to the dark and painful history buried beneath its manicured lawns. The Capital City Country Club, located in one of Tallahassee’s most affluent neighborhoods and less than a mile from the state Capitol, sits atop a historic burial ground for enslaved people who once lived and worked on the plantation that originally occupied the land. This discovery has forced the community to confront a legacy of slavery and segregation that has long been overlooked.
Archaeologists from the National Park Service have identified what they believe to be 23 unmarked graves, with an additional 14 possible burial sites near the seventh hole of the golf course. These graves are remnants of enslaved individuals who were buried without markers, a fate common for many enslaved people throughout the United States. Such cemeteries have frequently been forgotten or neglected, often threatened by development and a lack of public awareness or concern. The Capital City Country Club’s grounds are no exception, quietly concealing this painful chapter of Tallahassee’s history beneath its rolling green hills.
The golf course itself operates on land owned by the city and has been leased to the country club for a nominal fee of just $1 per year for nearly seven decades. This lease dates back to 1956, a time when the club returned to private ownership as a way to circumvent a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in public parks and recreational facilities. The privatization of the club was controversial; one of its former members was a judge whose nomination to the Supreme Court was derailed amid scrutiny over his connection to the club’s segregationist policies.
More than four years ago, the Tallahassee City Commission approved plans to create a commemorative site to honor and protect the unmarked graves discovered at the golf course. However, despite this approval, no memorial has been constructed to date. Recently, the city received an offer from the country club to purchase the 178-acre property for $1.25 million. The proposed sale includes legal conditions requiring the club to maintain the land as an 18-hole golf course indefinitely, and to allow the city to build and maintain a memorial site with guaranteed public access to the burial grounds.
This proposal sparked strong opposition from community members, leading to a crowded and emotional meeting at City Hall. Many residents expressed outrage at the prospect of selling the land, viewing it as a further disregard for the dignity and memory of those buried there. Delaitre Hollinger, a local activist whose ancestors were enslaved in Leon County—the historic heart of Florida’s plantation economy—vocalized the community’s frustration. “They were sold on the auction blocks of Leon County, and now we are willing to sell them again,” Hollinger said during the meeting.
Leon County, where Tallahassee is located, was a central hub of slavery in Florida. On the eve of the Civil War, three out of every four residents in the county were enslaved individuals owned by wealthy white families. Yet despite this deep-rooted history, only a handful of slave burial sites in the area are known today. This scarcity of recognized sites has made the discovery at the golf course even more significant, underscoring the urgent need for preservation and public acknowledgment.
The delay in creating a memorial has frustrated both residents and some city commissioners, who have questioned why it has taken so long to act on the approved plans. City officials have cited ongoing negotiations over the terms of the agreement and the disruption caused by tornadoes that hit the area in 2024 as reasons for the postponement. Nonetheless, many feel that the city has not given the matter the priority it deserves.
Experts in the field of historical preservation and trauma sites have also weighed in on the controversy. Kathleen Powers Conti, a history professor at Florida State University specializing in the preservation of contested historical sites, criticized the city’s approach. She expressed shock that neither the country club nor city officials have made efforts to identify the descendants of those buried at the site. Conti emphasized the importance of proactive research and engagement to honor the lives and legacies of the enslaved individuals interred there.
For advocates like Tifany Hill, a Tallahassee resident actively involved in preserving local Black cemeteries dating back to the 1800s, the issue is deeply personal. Hill’s family maintains a historic Black cemetery, and she echoed the call for recognition and respect for those