Collier County teen leads fight for dignity at Rosemary Cemetery

Reporter: Annette Montgomery
Published: Updated:

A teenager in Collier County is pushing for change at the Rosemary Cemetery.

Eight graves, set apart from the rest, highlight a stark difference—the color of the deceased’s skin.

Jonathan Rodriguez, a Boy Scout, has been working tirelessly to bring dignity to “Plot N” at the cemetery. He said, “I would have no idea that this was a cemetery looking around.”

Vincent Keeys, president of the NAACP Collier County branch, said, “It is without the proper fencing and protection that it needs so that people understand that it is sacred ground.”

The graves in Plot N are those of eight African Americans, including one child, buried at the intersection of Goodlette Frank and Pine Ridge Road.

The only thing separating them from others is the color of their skin.

“It’s just kind of unfair to me. It’s like, these people are people too. They were here in Naples, Florida. They’ve been citizens, so they deserve a dignified resting place like the people at Rosemary Cemetery,” said Rodriguez.

Keeys emphasized, “What comes to mind is dignity and respect. We want to see that dignity in death.”

Rodriguez has been advocating for change for over two years, even addressing commissioners earlier this year.

He said, “I’m trying to earn my Eagle Scout. And the main thing to earn it is you have to do a project for the community. And so when I heard about Plot N, I knew that’s what I wanted to focus my project on.”

Rodriguez has raised around $18,000 for the project. His efforts, along with those of the NAACP and the Collier County Museum, are finally paying off.

Keeys said, “Collier County Commissioners Office has designated this Plot W, as well as Plot N, as being a historically significant piece of land.”

Rodriguez’s vision for a dignified resting place is becoming a reality.

Keeys added, “We want to protect and preserve, and that’s the reason why we’d like to see fencing put up there, as well as headstones and, of course, a historical marker.”

Rodriguez envisions “bushes everywhere, a nice, good fence, headstones marking who these people were. And just make it look like a dignified resting place.”

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