SUGAR LAND, Texas – Seven years after the remains of 95 African Americans were discovered during construction at a Fort Bend ISD campus, a Texas Historical Marker was officially unveiled on Juneteenth to honor those who perished under the state's brutal convict leasing system used during the reconstruction period following the Civil War.
The emotional ceremony, held both inside the James Reese Career and Technical Center auditorium and at the adjacent burial site, marked the culmination of years of advocacy and legal proceedings that brought national attention to this dark chapter of Texas history.
Several elected officials read proclamations or made remarks, including Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers whose precinct includes Sugar Land. He reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the memorial project.
"I look forward to progressing the collaboration with Fort Bend ISD to deliver on my commitment for the County to provide $1.5 million to progress this memorial project, creating a place where future generations can learn from this difficult chapter in our history," Meyers said during his remarks.
The Sugar Land 95, as they came to be known, were victims of the convict leasing system that emerged after the Civil War.

Fort Bend ISD
The Sugar Land 95 memorial marker was unveiled on Juneteenth 2025.
The remains of the 95 prisoners were first discovered during preparatory work at the future home of FBISD's James Reese Career and Technical Center in 2018.
The late activist Reginald Moore, who had long advocated for recognition of this history and predicted the location of the burial site, was honored throughout the ceremony. His widow, Marilyn Moore, now leads the Friends of the Sugar Land 95 nonprofit, which is working with Fort Bend ISD to raise funds for a comprehensive memorial.
"These bones cry out," Pastor Trey Allen of The Vineyard Church of Sugar Land said in his invocation before a standing-room auditorium.
The ceremony featured moving performances, including Gregory "Saxman" Daniels performing "Amazing Grace" and recent FBISD graduate Jade Coleman, who performed a stunning rendition of her own poem titled "Echoes in the Earth".
Fort Bend ISD board president Kristin Tassin noted that she was board president, in an earlier term, when the remains of 94 men and one presumed woman were first discovered in 2018. She emphasized that the historical marker represents the community's commitment to honoring these individuals with dignity and respect.
Fort Bend ISD is working to raise an additional $3 million for a comprehensive outdoor learning center and memorial site. The total cost would be $4.5 million to pay for the memorial site, DNA research and community programming.
The DNA analysis work continues, with researchers working to identify more of the 95 individuals and connect them with living descendants. Descendant Sherra Aguirre, who is connected to one person known simply as "marker 54," spoke about the significance of the day.
"This couldn't have come at a better time. We're just so grateful," Aguirre said.
Based on my research, the first person identified at the Sugar Land 95 site was John Chambers who was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for the theft of a mule in 1881. He died in 1886 at age 32 from pneumonia.
The Juneteenth timing of the unveiling was particularly meaningful, as Juneteenth marks the occasion when enslaved people in Texas learned that they had been freed after the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865.
The owner of Covering Katy News is also employed by the Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner's Office.