African Burial Ground

https://www.nps.gov/afbg/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Burial_Ground_National_Monument African Burial Ground National Monument is at Duane Street and African Burial Ground Way (Elk Street) in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Its main building is the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway. The site contains the remains of more than 419 Africans buried during the late 17th and 18th centuries in a portion of what was the largest colonial-era cemetery for people of African descent, some free, most enslaved. Historians estimate there may have been as many as 10,000–20,000 burials in what was called the "Negroes Burial Ground" in the 1700s. The five to six acre site's excavation and study was called "the most important historic urban archaeological project in the United States." The Burial Ground site is New York's earliest known African-American "cemetery"; studies show an estimated 15,000 African American people were buried here. African Burial Ground is the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for both free and enslaved Africans. It protects the historic role slavery played in building New York. The African Burial Ground National Monument is located on the first floor of the Ted Weiss Federal Building located at 290 Broadway in Lower Manhattan; close to Foley Square and just north of City Hall. Our visitor center is located mid-block on Broadway between the cross streets of Duane Street and Reade Streets. African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center Visitor center is located at 290 Broadway, in lower Manhattan. The visitor center is located mid-block on Broadway between Duane and Reade Streets. African Burial Ground Memorial African Burial Ground Memorial African Burial Ground Memorial Visitor Center Entrance Entrance to visitor center with four banners above doorway. Entrance to the African Burial Ground National Monument visitor center. Outdoor Memorial Entrance Outdoor memorial entrance with closed gate. Outdoor memorial entrance with closed gate. Memorial's circle of diaspora. Memorial's circle of diaspora. Memorial's circle of diaspora. Exhibits within visitor center. Exhibits within visitor center. Exhibits within visitor center. National Park Getaway: African Burial Ground National Monument The “City That Never Sleeps” is constantly reinventing itself. Buildings designed with one intention become something else; old structures give way to new, and neighborhoods regenerate. But sometimes something happens that causes New York City to stop and reflect on its history. ranger speaking to a crowd of people in front of a memorial Young Leaders of Africa Visit African Burial Ground National Monument Mandela Washington Fellow Barbara Kemigisa, from Uganda, enjoys 'the moment' "expressing freedom," she said, at African Burial Ground National Monument. Barbara is an HIV activist in Kampala, Uganda who is passionate about sharing her story after being molested as a child and infected with HIV as a teen, through Pill Power Uganda. This organization recycles empty ARV bottles into artifacts to engage, support, and inspire youth living with HIV and to use their stories. Barbara Kemigisa, from Uganda, lies on the floor map of Manhattan showing African Burial Ground. Staff Spotlight: George McDonald Meet George McDonald, the Chief of Youth Programs and the Experienced Services Program Division. George oversees projects and programs that involve youth and young adults working at National Park Service sites across the country, primarily focusing on individuals 15 to 30 years old, and those 35 years old or under who are military veterans. These projects generally cover natural and cultural resource conservation. Learn more about him. George McDonald smiling at Grand Canyon National Park Manhattan Sites Volunteer Program An overview of the volunteer program in Manhattan, New York City and instructions on how to apply for the program. A domed and columned white marble building with American Flag buntings out front. Top Tips for Visiting the Manhattan Sites Plan Like a Park Ranger: Top Tips for Visiting the Manhattan Sites

African Burial Ground You may bury me in the bottom of Manhattan. I will rise. My people will get me. I will rise out of the huts of history's shame. The heart-shaped West African symbol called the Sankofa translates to "learn from the past to prepare for the future." The Sankofa appears in many places at the African Burial Ground National Monument, reminding us that the 419 Africans and African descendants buried here so long ago have much to teach us. Scientific study of the h u m a n remains reveals that work was hard, life was short, and people often met a violent end. Yet these people were lovingly laid to rest by family and friends. —Maya Angelou, 2003 Long neglected, overlain by two centuries of progress, the African Burial Ground reemerged in 1991 during construction of a federal office building. Widely regarded as one of the most African Burial Ground National Monument New York National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior important archeological finds of the 20th century, the rediscovery also sparked controversy. Protesters, outraged at the destruction of sacred ground, demanded that construction be halted. Local activism became a national effort to preserve the site and h o n o r the contributions of New York's first Africans. A traditional African burial ceremony took place in 2003, when all 419 human remains were reburied on the site. Established in 2006, African Burial Ground National Monument is a place to contemplate the spirit of the Sankofa. Obscure individuals from the past come alive again with the lessons of sacrifice, perseverance, respect, power of community, and the continual hope for a better future. Left: Map of burial ground, 1755; man beside wooden reburial coffins, 2003. Above and below: halfpenny, silver pendant, cufflink, and button—rare and treasured objects to Africans in Colonial America—found with burials. Left and background: Sankofa symbol. Africans in Early New York Sacred Ground Africans in Colonial America were brought from different parts of the continentincluding regions that are now the countries of Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Madagascar, among many others. They spoke different languages and practiced diverse customs and religions. Separated from their people, they were chained, packed in ships' holds, and taken away forever. From 1626 through the late 1700s, Africans and African descendants gathered when they could to bury their loved ones. The original "Negros Buriel Ground," as it was labeled on a 1755 map (upper left), covered 6.6 acres, including today's African Burial Ground National Monument. For most of the Colonial era and even beyond, it was the only cemetery for some 15,000 Africans and African descendants. No accounts survive from the people who buried their friends and loved ones here, but we know quite a bit about the cemetery's history. A 1697 Dutch law banned African burials in New York City's public cemetery, so the African burial ground lay north of the city limits near a ravine. In 1745 the city expanded northward, and a new defensive wall—the "palisade"—bisected the sacred burial ground. In 1626, the first enslaved laborers were brought to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, today's Lower Manhattan. Under Dutch West India Company rule these "Company slaves" had certain rights: they could own property, file grievances, be baptized, and marry. In 1644,11 male enslaved Africans petitioned and won partial freedom and over 100 acres of farmland that became known as "the Land of the Blacks." In return, they paid the Dutch West India Company annually with corn, wheat, peas, beans, "and one fat hog." This "freedom" was tenuous at best, and children of freed parents were still considered enslaved. When England took control in 1664 and New Amsterdam became New York, slavery codes became far more oppressive. By the 1720s, enslaved or free, no blacks owned land. About one quarter of colonial New York's labor force was enslaved. Often using skills they brought from their homelands, they worked side-by-side with free people and European indentured servants. Men cleared farmland, filled swampland, and built city improvements like Broadway and The Wall. Enslaved African women toiled in their owners' homes, carrying large water vessels, cooking from raw ingredients over a fire, boiling water for laundry, and caring for their owner's families in addition to their own. Children started work young. Common causes of death were malnutrition, physical strain, punishment, and diseases like yellow fever and smallpox. Despite extraordinary assaults on their humanity, these Africans and their descendants found dignity and community through familiar cultural rituals, including burial of the dead. Colonial laws made African funerals essentially illegal. Enslaved Africans were prohibited from gathering in groups of 12 or more or holding burials after sunset. But the dead were nonetheless buried with dignity and respect accordin