African Burial Ground National Monument
Encyclopedia
African Burial Ground National Monument at Duane Street and African Burial Ground Way (Elk Street) in Lower Manhattan
(New York City
) preserves a site containing the remains of more than 400 Africans buried during the 17th and 18th centuries. Historians estimate there may have been 15,000-20,000 burials there. The site's excavation and study was called the most important historic urban archeological project in the United States. The site has been designated a National Historic Landmark
and National Monument.
in New Netherland
in the early 17th century. Africans were imported only as slaves, but some became half-free during Dutch times, before New Amsterdam
was captured by the British in 1664. Perth Amboy in New Jersey
was a busy duty-free center for the importation of slaves. At the time of the Revolutionary War, there were about 10,000 African Americans in New York. They worked in a wide variety of fields, including as skilled artisans and craftsmen associated with shipping, construction, and other trades, as well as domestic servants and laborers. Through much of the 18th century, the African burying ground was beyond the northern boundary of the city at Chambers Street.
New York abolished slavery in 1827; New Jersey abolished slavery only gradually, substituting indentureship for slavery in 1804. At the time of the American Civil War
, there were former slaves in New Jersey who were still "indentured for life".
Federal Office Building. The General Services Administration
(GSA), which controlled the project, halted construction to properly preserve the remains. Because of the significance of the find, they ordered a redesign of the building to provide adequate room for a memorial. On April 19, 1993, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark
.
Historians believe the site to have been the interment location for as many as 15,000 to 20,000 Black men, women, and children over the years of its use. It was a burying ground from the 17th century to its closure in 1812. New York Governor David Paterson
is reported to have dubbed the grounds "our Ellis Island
".
Critics of the construction project believed the archeological research design originally proposed was not adequate. It did not have a plan for the treatment of uncovered remains. In addition, the African descendant community in New York City was not consulted in the development of the research design, nor were any archaeologists who had experience studying the African diaspora
. After protests from a coalition of community members, politicians, and scholars, control of the burial site was transferred to Michael Blakey and his team at Howard University
for study.
On February 27, 2006, President George W. Bush
signed a proclamation designating the federal land as the 123rd National Monument
. It was the 390th unit of the National Park System
. This is considered the "most important historic urban archaeological project undertaken in the United States." After the Howard University studies, the remains were reinterred at the site in a respectful ceremony.
As part of the dedication ceremonies, Elk Street was officially renamed African Burial Ground Way.
A design competition attracted 61 proposals for a site memorial. The winning memorial design by Rodney Leon in partnership with Nicole Hollant-Denis, AARRIS Architects, was chosen in June 2004 and was dedicated on October 5, 2007. The grounds serve as a location for various cultural exhibitions and events throughout the year.
The memorial design for the 25 feet (7.6 m) granite
monument features a map of the Atlantic area in reference to the middle passage and The Door of Return, in reference to "The Door of No Return
", a name given to slave ports on the coast of West Africa
, from which so many people were transported. The monument was dedicated in a ceremony presided by Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and poet Maya Angelou
.
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
(New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) preserves a site containing the remains of more than 400 Africans buried during the 17th and 18th centuries. Historians estimate there may have been 15,000-20,000 burials there. The site's excavation and study was called the most important historic urban archeological project in the United States. The site has been designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and National Monument.
African Americans in New York City
Slavery in the New York City area was introduced by the DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
in the early 17th century. Africans were imported only as slaves, but some became half-free during Dutch times, before New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
was captured by the British in 1664. Perth Amboy in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
was a busy duty-free center for the importation of slaves. At the time of the Revolutionary War, there were about 10,000 African Americans in New York. They worked in a wide variety of fields, including as skilled artisans and craftsmen associated with shipping, construction, and other trades, as well as domestic servants and laborers. Through much of the 18th century, the African burying ground was beyond the northern boundary of the city at Chambers Street.
New York abolished slavery in 1827; New Jersey abolished slavery only gradually, substituting indentureship for slavery in 1804. At the time of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, there were former slaves in New Jersey who were still "indentured for life".
Discovery of site and controversy
The historic remains were found in 1991 during the construction of the Foley SquareFoley Square
Foley Square is a street intersection and green space in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City and – by extension – the surrounding area, which is dominated by civic buildings. The space is bordered by Worth Street, Centre Street and Lafayette Street and lies...
Federal Office Building. The General Services Administration
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
(GSA), which controlled the project, halted construction to properly preserve the remains. Because of the significance of the find, they ordered a redesign of the building to provide adequate room for a memorial. On April 19, 1993, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Historians believe the site to have been the interment location for as many as 15,000 to 20,000 Black men, women, and children over the years of its use. It was a burying ground from the 17th century to its closure in 1812. New York Governor David Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
is reported to have dubbed the grounds "our Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
".
Critics of the construction project believed the archeological research design originally proposed was not adequate. It did not have a plan for the treatment of uncovered remains. In addition, the African descendant community in New York City was not consulted in the development of the research design, nor were any archaeologists who had experience studying the African diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. After protests from a coalition of community members, politicians, and scholars, control of the burial site was transferred to Michael Blakey and his team at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
for study.
Memorial
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed a proclamation designating the federal land as the 123rd National Monument
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
. It was the 390th unit of the National Park System
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. This is considered the "most important historic urban archaeological project undertaken in the United States." After the Howard University studies, the remains were reinterred at the site in a respectful ceremony.
As part of the dedication ceremonies, Elk Street was officially renamed African Burial Ground Way.
A design competition attracted 61 proposals for a site memorial. The winning memorial design by Rodney Leon in partnership with Nicole Hollant-Denis, AARRIS Architects, was chosen in June 2004 and was dedicated on October 5, 2007. The grounds serve as a location for various cultural exhibitions and events throughout the year.
The memorial design for the 25 feet (7.6 m) granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
monument features a map of the Atlantic area in reference to the middle passage and The Door of Return, in reference to "The Door of No Return
The door of no return
The House of Slaves and its Door of No Return is a museum and memorial to the Atlantic Slave Trade on tiny Goree Island, 3 km off the coast of the city of Dakar, Senegal. Its museum, opened in 1962 and curated until his death in 2009 by Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, is said to memorialise the final...
", a name given to slave ports on the coast of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, from which so many people were transported. The monument was dedicated in a ceremony presided by Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
and poet Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
.
Visitor Center
In February 2010, a new visitor center opened in the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway, which was built over part of the archaeological site. The visitor center includes an exhibition created by Amaze Design on the significance of the burial site with a life-sized tableau by Studio EIS depicting a dual funeral for an adult and child. Other parts of the exhibition explore the work life of Africans in early New York and efforts to preserve the burial ground. The visitor center includes a 40-person theater and a shop.See also
- History of slavery in New YorkHistory of slavery in New YorkSlavery in New York was instituted when the New Amsterdam fur trading-post developed into a farming colony in the 17th century; the first African slaves were imported by the Dutch West Indies Company to New Amsterdam in 1626...
- History of slavery in New JerseyHistory of slavery in New JerseySlavery in New Jersey began in the early 17th century shortly after Dutch settlement. After England took the colony in 1664, it continued the importation of slaves from Africa, and for a time imported enslaved Native Americans from the Carolinas and the West Indies...
External links
- African Burial Ground National Monument - Official NPS website
- African Burial Ground - Visitor information and related downloadable walking tour from NPS partner
- African Burial Ground National Monument presidential proclamation
- Announcement of National Monument proclamation
- African Burial Ground Informational site - GSAGeneral Services AdministrationThe General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
- African Burial Ground Mini-Documentary on YouTube