A historic Dallas landmark is now under police surveillance after vandals targeted Freedman's Memorial Cemetery, damaging the site and stealing several handcrafted memorial items.

The cemetery, located along the Central Expressway frontage road near Lemmon Avenue, is one of the city's most sacred sites. It marks the final resting place of thousands from Dallas' first Black settlement, dating back to the 1860s. The site holds both city landmark and state historic designations.

Memorial plaques reported missing

City officials confirmed that at least eight specially designed plaques—created by artisans to honor those buried at the site—have been removed from the cemetery's memorial walls.

"This is sacred ground, and we see it as that," a city representative said. "We want to do our best t

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