As I See It 

Goats, not Ghosts, at Westview Cemetery 

By Christ Saint-Hilare  

Westview Cemetery has a goat problem. As odd as it may initially sound, goats are a relatively common sight at cemeteries. They’re usually used as a low-cost alternative source of lawn care, but from a cursory glance at Westview Cemetery, located on West Copans Road in Pompano Beach, it’s clear that adequate lawn care has not been a priority for quite some time.  

The goats serve as the perfect metaphor for the state of the cemetery. Their ears are clipped. Their fur is matted, gray and dirty. Some are half sheared, and through divine irony there is even one whose fur has completely dreadlocked. It is a heartbreaking sight, matched only by the state of the cemetery itself. 

Before even stepping foot into Westview, visitors are greeted by an abandoned bus, piles of trash, and tires underneath a sign that surely has never been used, with a number to call regarding dumping concerns. Visiting hours end at 6 p.m., but the gate which surrounds the cemetery is falling apart, leaving several unintended entrances, and the likelihood of enforcement doubtful. 

The most disturbing sight is the graves themselves. No headstones to identify them, caskets only partially buried, weathered by time and the elements.  

In contrast, located at 400 SE 23rd Ave, Pompano Beach, FL 33062, less than five miles from Westview is the Pompano Beach Cemetery. There are no goats in the Pompano Beach cemetery. No trash anywhere in sight. The lawn is so well maintained, the best comparison is a country club. The gate completely surrounds the enclosure, and each entrance is closed outside visiting hours. The graves are fully submerged, with flowers and headstones on everyone. One glance and you can feel the reverence with which they treat the citizens of the cemetery. 

Pompano Beach has a sordid history with segregation and a lack of prioritization — or even consideration — regarding its citizens of color. The type of desecration occurring at Westview doesn’t happen overnight. It takes consistency in beating down the public being serviced enough they internalize that there is absolutely nothing they can do. The struggles of the community whose families reside at Westview is real. They’ve had parts of the land sold off without their consent, tried to sue to regain control multiple times and have been shot down by the courts. They’ve been promised change, but efforts only last about the time it takes the ink to dry. 

It’s a tough pill to swallow in 2025, in the face of this seemingly endless progress. But the disparity between Westview and the Pompano Beach cemetery isn’t isolated, it’s a reflection of an issue that lies at the core of America and even its politics. Indiana Governor Mike Braun has gone on record to say that interracial marriage should be decided by the state. That mentality is the same one that led to the creation of Westview. If someone in a position of power that high can boldly make an assertion like that, and the effects of segregation are still being felt today with not even the dead being spared… has anything changed? or has the Black community been pacified with the illusion of equity?