This Juneteenth at the historic Bullhead Camp Cemetery, known as “Sugar Land 95,” marked the commemoration of the past, coupled with a renewed commitment to preserve the past.

The event, “Juneteenth proclamation for justice for the Sugar Land 95,” was held at Fort Bend ISD’s James Reese Career and Technical Center, abutting the hitherto unmarked cemetery, on Saturday, June 19.

It was organized by the Society of Justice and Equality for the People of Sugar Land-S.O.J.E.S (sojesjustice.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to seeking justice for the Sugar Land 95.

S.O.J.E.S. believed that the plight of the Sugar Land 95 should be fully revealed, the community needs to be educated and justice for these victims should be won by honoring and memorializing those buried, leading to the healing of the community.

As the remains of the 95 victims still lie in unadorned graves in the grassy field, marked only by flat, black rectangular stones engraved with numbers, Cole announced that S.O.J.E.S. will build a national convict leasing museum and educational center to inform the world about the harrowing system of racial oppression that existed in Texas and throughout the South from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The museum will be part of “the Sugar Land 95” experience, a collaborative effort developed by SOJES to take visitors through a journey of awareness through education, memorialization, healing and reconciliation between the past and present.