The Rio Grand Valley use to be heavily segregated. It use to be that the rail road track would separate “white society” from the rest of the valley. Even with the Jim crow laws and the Texas vs. Hernandez case (a court battle in which the argument was made that the accused had the right to a trial of his own pears) ending in the 1950s the area was still heavily segregated. Tucked away from the rest of the world living in its own little bubble it took years and longer after the civil rights movement to ended for the valley to finally become desegregated. Looking at the cemetery and you can clearly see a difference in social status in terms of economic wealth. I’ am not simply referring to the different cemeteries such as Hill Crest or Brushwood. I’ am referring to all cemeteries as whole. As with any project there is a chance of unknowingly overlooking something important. Just like how the valley was over looked-for years. First understanding the reasons why people were buried there is helpful. Was the reason because they had not next of kin, did they die suddenly and was their anytime for a proper burial? These answers can possibly help with the social justice in archaeology. As always there is always something more beneath the soil of archaeology.
