A "whites only" cemetery in North Texas will be no more if the Denton city council approves an ordinance renouncing language in the burial grounds' deed saying that its plots are only for whites.
The city council said it will consider the ordinance addressing the restriction in the 1933 deed between the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery and the city, reported The Associated Press.
The ordinance calls the restriction "illegal, unenforceable, unconscionable, contrary and repugnant to the philosophy, principals and beliefs of the" city.
The ordinance says the restriction hasn't been enforced since at least 1948.
Councilman Dalton Gregory told
WFAA-TV he was "stunned" to learn of the language and backs the ordinance. He notes African-Americans and people from other races are buried there.
Civil rights activist Willie Hudspeth, who brought the issue up, said he was appreciative of the city's speed in addressing it.
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