Crosses were placed by The Abandon Cemetery Association of Parker County to mark newly discovered graves of members of Anthony Crawford and James Grays Great Great Grandparents and family. The cemetery that belonged to their Great Great Grandparents who were slaves during the Confederacy in the 1800s. The brothers will be the first living relatives to visit these graves since the 1900s.
Tony Crawford stands in at the Mount Pleasant Colored School in Weatherford after a meeting with city officials about the Confederate Statue's future. The Colored School was built in 1907 for black children to get an education. Many of Tony’s elders attended this school and spoke of the abuse and segregation in the city.
Anthony Crawford (Left) and James Gray (Right) walk the newly discovered cemetery discovered by a caretaker of the property currently being excavated for development. Both brothers are local Weatherford activists fighting to find the slave trade history in their hometown and protest and organize against a Confederate statue at the Weatherford Courthouse, which the United Confederate Daughters placed.
Police arrive and have been instructed to move the protest outside the Doss Heritage Center property. The Statue Relocation Team continues its protests to show they remain unthreatening by the police commands.
A worn-out painting of the town's courthouse fades on the side of a local business in Weatherford, Texas. Weatherford was established in 1858 and has had many Court Houses in its time. The courthouse has been destroyed and burnt to the ground three different times in its history.
A Weatherford man, who is a member of the Sons of the Confederacy, holds a confederate flag close to his chest during an annual Confederate Veterans Memorial Day at the towns square. This Memorial Day is held one day after Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Tony Crawford carries his toolbox as he walks down one of his repair job's driveway. Tony is sometimes overwhelmed with his roles with the protesting and daily life, finds peace when working on his jobs, puts on his headphones, and does his work.
Anthony Crawford cuts down brush with friends and The Abandon Cemetery Association of Parker County, as they search for any evidence of more graves or historical artifacts left by their ancestors from the 1900s.
Anthony Crawford holds a small gravestone that shows the engravings RIP from his Great Great Grandfather. A cemetery discovered by a caretaker of a piece of land in Weatherford, Texas, is reunited with relatives. The graves belong to a family of once enslaved African Americans in the 1800s to 1900s.
James Gray observes the ongoing conference inside the Doss Heritage Center in Weatherford. The Statue Relocation Team protests outside the doors to disrupt the gathering.
James Gray (Center Left), a 6th generation Weatherford Resident, argues with protestors who stand for the Confederate Statue located on the court house lawn.
A Police Officer, stops Anthony Crawford to thank him for make the decision to end the protest before things got violent.
James Gray advises one of his students during a boxing training session. James is an ex-professional boxer and an activist in Weatherford. James works along with his older brother Anthony Crawford and Statue RelocationTeam to relocate or remove a Confederate Statue in Weatherford.
Tony Crawford plays with his family on a trampoline in his backyard. Tony is an activist with the Statute Relocation Team, S.R.T., who has been protesting and speaking with Weatherford city officials to remove the Confederate monument in front of the Court House.
Members of the Statute Relocation Team, S.R.T., sit together in the living room of a member's house to discuss plans with their movement and efforts to protest a Confederate monument on the Court House lawn in Weatherford.
A grassroots group called "Statue Relocation Team" protests a confederate statue that stands in front of the Weatherford courthouse. The group has been active in protests since the beginning of 2020 and continues even after city officials anonymously voted to keep the statue.
A mother and her children stop to hell at the grassroots group called "Statue Relocation Team," who is protesting a confederate statue that stands in front of the Weatherford courthouse. The kids throw a cup of ice at the protestors after driving by.
A grassroots group called "Statue Relocation Team" protests a confederate statue that stands in front of the Weatherford courthouse. The group has been active in protests since the beginning of 2020 and continues even after city officials anonymously voted to keep the statue.
During a demonstration of the Weatherford Confederate monument, which the city council voted not to remove from the city courthouse grounds, supporters wave a Confederate flag on the city courthouse's street curb. Motorists drive by and honk at the protestors.
Chris Rusanowsky
CHRIS RUSANOWSKY PHOTOJOURNALIST PHOTOGRAPHING BASED IN TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES NEWS WORTHY IMAGES, PHOTO ESSAYS AND LONG-TERM STORIE.
