Waco ends cemetery segregation in place since late 1800's

Posted: Jun 8, 2016 / 12:16 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 8, 2016 / 12:16 PM CDT

Waco, Texas (KCEN) The city of Waco took a stance against segregation Tuesday by removing the fence that has continued to divide Greenwood Cemetery for decades.

The cemetery, which was originally opened in the late 1800s, was cared for by two separate organizations – one for the black side and the other for the white side — until the city began caring for the site within the last ten years.

On Tuesday morning, crews with the Waco Parks and Recreation Department used a forklift and power tools to tear down the chain-link fence that divided the cemetery between races.

“God works in mysterious ways. We can’t hurry God,” said City Councilman Wilbert Austin, who was at the cemetery to watch the fence be torn down. “We might have wanted to do it 99 years ago, but God said no, I’ll wait until 2016 to do it.”