AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city crews and some community members united Wednesday to remove graffiti from more than a dozen headstones at a historic cemetery for Black residents.

Austin police said vandals defaced about 15 headstones earlier this week at the Evergreen Cemetery in East Austin, the city's first major municipal cemetery for Black people.

About 12,000 people have been buried in Evergreen Cemetery, including some from African American community and civic leaders.

Black residents had been laid to rest in shared sites before the cemetery was created in 1926.

City staffers will spearhead the cleaning process.

It's expected to be completed in phases over the next few weeks.