Overlooked Places in New York: African Burial Ground

Text: Julie Schwietert Collazo
Photos: Francisco Collazo
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“they were digging a new foundation in manhattan
and they discovered a slave cemetery there
may their souls rest easy now that lynching is frowned upon
and we’ve moved on to the electric chair
is there anything i can do
about anything at all

except go back to that corner in manhattan
and dig deeper
dig deeper this time
down beneath the impossible pain of our history
beneath unknown bones
beneath the bedrock of the mystery
beneath the sewage system and the path train
beneath the cobblestones and the water main
beneath the traffic of friendships and street deals
beneath the screeching of kamikaze cab wheels
beneath everything i can think of to think about
beneath it all”
-From the song “Fuel,” by Ani Difranco

**
It was when I first listened to this song on Ani Difranco’s album “Little Plastic Castle” that I heard about what would become the African Burial Ground, but it would be years later before the resting place of Africans brought to New York during the slave trade would be preserved and opened to the public.

The African Burial Ground National Monument was established in 2006, but it wasn’t until February 27 of this year that a visitor center staffed with National Parks Service rangers and designed with informative, interactive exhibits was open, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn more about this important and almost overlooked part of American history.

On Thursday, we visited, surprised to see so many other visitors on a weekday afternoon. Moms with their kids, older couples, a man in a wheelchair, and school children accompanied by their teachers were all exploring the visitors’ center, which manages to perform a teaching function for all ages.

It seems ridiculous to think this might have been otherwise, but in 1991, when the remains were discovered, it wasn’t at all inevitable that the African Burial Ground would be preserved.

Occupying a choice parcel of real estate in lower Manhattan, the lot on which the remains were found was slated to become a federal building and the purchase of the land had already been transacted. In fact, the remains were uncovered by construction workers as building was underway.

Though the remains were excavated, critics wondered whether this was being done respectfully and they were deeply divided over whether the rest of the remains should be excavated or allowed to be preserved as they were. After protests, petitions, a 24 hour vigil, and all sorts of research and feasibility plans, it was decided that part of the burial ground would be preserved and a commemorative structure would be built. A park would be built, it would be designated a national monument, and the public would be able to learn about the history of slavery in New York at an accompanying visitor center.

The remains that were reinterred are in these mounds, visible in the foreground of this photo.

The monument consists of two parts. The pyramidal shaped part is the “Ancestral Libation Chamber,” described by the NPS as a “24 foot chamber that represents the soaring African spirit….” Below the chamber is where the remains were discovered. The exterior is “reminiscent of a ship’s hold,” and “the Sankofa symbol is engraved on the exterior.” The second part of the memorial is called the Circle of the Disapora, and depicts the “complexity and diversity of African cultures” through symbols engraved on stone quarried in Africa.

Entry to the visitor center is free, and it is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM. The monument and burial ground itself are behind the visitor center. You’re welcome to bring your camera, but be aware that security at the visitor center is stringent, due to the fact that the center is located inside a federal building.

More photos can be viewed here.