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==The Burial Ground==
==The Burial Ground==
In total, the remains of 400 men, women and children of African descent were found at the site, where they were buried in wooden boxes. More than half were children under 12, indicating the high mortality rate at the time. Historians and anthropologists estimate that over the decades, as many as 15,000-20,000 people were buried there. Some of the burials included items related to African origins and burial practices.
In total, the remains of 400 men, women and children of African descent were found at the site, where they were buried in wooden boxes. More than half were children under 12, indicating the high mortality rate at the time. Historians and anthropologists estimate that over the decades, as many as 15,000-20,000 people were buried there. Some of the burials included items related to African origins and burial practices.

These remains stand for the estimated tens of thousands of persons at the burial ground and historically in New York, representing Africans' "critical" role in "the formation and development of this city and, by extension, the Nation."<ref name = "nhlsum"/> Because of its significance to African-American and United States history, on April 19, 1993, the site was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] by the [[Department of Interior]].<ref name = "nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2156&ResourceType = Site|title = African Burial Ground|date = 2007-09-14|work = National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher = National Park Service quote = The more than 400 individuals whose remains have been recovered from this site represent a much larger population whose role in the formation and development of this city and, by extension, the Nation, is critical.|access date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref name = "nrhpinv">{{Cite document|url = http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/93001597.pdf|title = National Register of Historic Places Registration: African Burial Ground|date = November 9, 1992|author = Jean Howson and Gale Harris|publisher = National Park Service|quote = }}</ref><ref name = "nrhpphotos">{{Cite document|url = http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/93001597.pdf|title = National Register of Historic Places Registration: African Burial Ground--Accompanying 11 photos from 1992.|date = November 8, 1992|publisher = National Park Service|postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref>
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==Memorial==
==Memorial==

Revision as of 14:45, 10 February 2012

African Burying Ground
LocationNew York, New York
Area0.345 acres (0.140 ha)
ArchitectRodney Leon
Visitation117,113 (2010)
NRHP reference No.93001597[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 19, 1993
Designated NHLApril 19, 1993
Designated NMONFebruary 27, 2006

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.

African Americans in New York City

Slave being burned at the stake in N.Y.C. after the 1741 slave insurrection.

Slavery in the New York City area was introduced by the Dutch in New Netherland in the early 17th century. Africans were imported as slaves, but the possibility of becoming free or half-free existed under Dutch rule, and even those in full bondage were granted certain rights and afforded protections, such as not being subjegated to arbitrary physical punishment such a whipping without the written approval of the Common Council.

After the British took over New Amsterdam, they changed the name to New York. They imposed slavery rules that were more harsh and restrictive than those of the Dutch, and rescinded the former protection of slaves from arbitrary and random physical punishment.

At the time of the Revolutionary War, the African and African-descendant community in New York numbered about 10,000, including slaves and free blacks. 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 established a law in 1804 for gradual emancipation; it effectively substituted indentureship for slavery. At the time of the American Civil War, some former slaves in New Jersey were still listed in the census as "indentured for life".[2][3]

Negros Burial Ground

The "Negros Burial Ground" near the Collect Pond, looking south (late 1700s map). The stockade roughly parallels Chambers Street; the wide street to the right (west) is Broadway.

The burial ground was located on what was then the outskirts of the developed city just north of present-day Chambers Street and west of the former Collect Pond. Labelled on old maps as the "Negros Burial Ground," the area was first used around 1712 for burials of enslaved and freed Africans and African Americans; it continued to be used as a cemetery until 1794. People of African descent were barred from being buried in the cemeteries of New York City churches, including Trinity Church, which issued a formal proclamation in 1697 precluding any future interments. (The English colonists considered the Africans as foreigners, not English subjects, and even in England at the time, there was no system of naturalization for foreigners.)[4]

The area used for burial was in a ravine, which sloped down to the northeast toward the Collect Pond from present-day Chambers Street. A stockade formed the boundary of the city after it had expanded northward, similar in form and function to the former stockade on Wall Street.

After the city closed the cemetery in 1795, developers gradually leveled the land with up to 25 feet (7.6 m) of fill over the burials, thus preserving the burials and the original grade level. As urban development took place over the fill, the burial ground was largely forgotten. In 1991, bodies were unearthed during the construction of a new $275 million federal office building by the General Services Administration (GSA) at 290 Broadway. The agency had done an environmental impact statement (EIS), but had not expected to encounter human remains.

Discovery of site and controversy

After the discovery of the first bodies became publicly known, the African-American community protested against continued excavation and construction at the site, leading the General Services Administration to halt construction of the building until the site could be thoroughly assessed. It provided additional funding to conduct a proper archaeological excavation to reveal any other bodies on the site.

Critics of the construction project believed GSA's original archeological research design was inadequate as it did not require 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 the protests from a coalition of community members, politicians, and scholars, control of the burial site was transferred to the physical anthropologist Michael L. Blakey and his team at Howard University for study.

In large part due to African-American community activism, the construction project was redesigned to preserve part of the archeological site. The southern portion of the building, slated to be built on the parcel by Duane and Elk Streets, was eliminated to provide adequate room for a memorial.

The Burial Ground

In total, the remains of 400 men, women and children of African descent were found at the site, where they were buried in wooden boxes. More than half were children under 12, indicating the high mortality rate at the time. Historians and anthropologists estimate that over the decades, as many as 15,000-20,000 people were buried there. Some of the burials included items related to African origins and burial practices.

These remains stand for the estimated tens of thousands of persons at the burial ground and historically in New York, representing Africans' "critical" role in "the formation and development of this city and, by extension, the Nation."[5] Because of its significance to African-American and United States history, on April 19, 1993, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of Interior.[5][6][7]

Memorial

Rendering of site

On February 27, 2006, President George W. Bush signed a proclamation designating the federal land as the 123rd National Monument.[8] 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."[9] After the Howard University studies, the remains were reinterred at the site in a respectful ceremony.[9]

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-foot (7.6 m) granite monument features a map of the Atlantic area in reference to the Middle Passage [10], by which slaves were transported from Africa to North America, 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.[11]

The monument was dedicated in a ceremony presided by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the poet Maya Angelou.[11]As part of the dedication ceremonies, Elk Street was officially renamed African Burial Ground Way.[12]

Visitor Center

In February 2010, a new visitor center [13] 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; it has 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 the late 20th-century efforts to preserve the burial ground. The visitor center includes a 40-person theater and a shop.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "Slavery in New York". New York Historical Society. 7 October 2005 to November 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "The Hidden History of Slavery in New York". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-02-11. In 1991 excavators for a new federal office building in Manhattan unearthed the remains of more than 400 Africans stacked in wooden boxes sixteen to twenty-eight feet below street level.
  4. ^ Taunya Lovell Banks, "Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit - Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia", 41 Akron Law Review 799 (2008), Digital Commons Law, University of Maryland Law School, accessed 21 Apr 2009
  5. ^ a b = Site "African Burial Ground". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service quote = The more than 400 individuals whose remains have been recovered from this site represent a much larger population whose role in the formation and development of this city and, by extension, the Nation, is critical. 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Jean Howson and Gale Harris (November 9, 1992). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: African Burial Ground" (Document). National Park Service. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration: African Burial Ground--Accompanying 11 photos from 1992" (Document). National Park Service. November 8, 1992. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "National Monuments Numbered". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  9. ^ a b "African Burial Ground", General Services Administration, accessed 9 Apr 2009
  10. ^ "Rodney Leon Tapped to Design National Historic Landmark; Winner to Create Memorial for 17th, 18th-Century Africans". Exodus News. May 6, 2005. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  11. ^ a b "New York opens slave burial site". BBC News. October 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06. The late 17th Century burial site was gradually built over as New York expanded, but was rediscovered during an excavation in 1991. Some 400 remains, many of children, were found during excavations. Half of the remains found at the burial site were of children under the age of 12.
  12. ^ "African Burial Ground Memorial Opening Events". Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  13. ^ Rothstein, Edward (February 26, 2010). "A Burial Ground and Its Dead Are Given Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
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