TAMPA, Fla. – Greeks are credited with the emergence of the Tarpon Springs sponge docks, but Black residents were among the industry’s earliest leaders.As Union soldiers fought to end slavery, there were slaves fighting against them.Neither of those facts are “household knowledge,” said Shannon Peck-Bartle, a social studies teacher at Tampa’s Steinbrenner High School.[TRENDING: Gregory Edwards video released | SpaceX Crew-1 launch delayed until Sunday | Fatal Orange County crash]She is looking to change that.Last school year, Peck-Bartle added the history of Tarpon Springs’ Rose Cemetery to her curriculum.
It was approved for all Hillsborough County schools.Buried in the Black cemetery are pioneers of the sponge docks and a Confederate.