African Burial Ground National Monument 1939171 221823175 2008-06-26T07:23:03Z Doncram 342538 revert to version prior to edits by new wikipedian Aarrisarchitects. I posted welcome and spam warning at A's Talkpage. See Discussion to this article for more specifics. __notoc__ {{Infobox Protected area | name = African Burial Ground National Monument | iucn_category = III <!-- Note: site is not listed in IUCN database, but appears to conform with Category III --> | image = African Burial Ground.jpg | caption = | location = [[New York City|New York, New York]], [[United States|USA]] | nearest_city = | lat_degrees = 40 | lat_minutes = 42 | lat_seconds = 52 | lat_direction = N | long_degrees = 74 | long_minutes = 0 | long_seconds = 15 | long_direction = W | area = 0.345 acre (1,400 m²) | established = [[February 27]], [[2006]] | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = [[National Park Service]] }} {{Infobox_nrhp | name =African Burying Ground | nrhp_type = nmon | image = African National Monument-1.jpg | caption = | location= [[New York, New York]] | lat_degrees = 40 | lat_minutes = 42 | lat_seconds = 49.21 | lat_direction = N | long_degrees = 73 | long_minutes = 59 | long_seconds = 37.85 | long_direction = W | locmapin = New York | area = | built = | architect= [[Rodney Leon]] | architecture= | designated = [[April 19]], [[1993]] | added = [[April 19]], [[1993]] | governing_body = National Park Service | ref<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/navpop.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s">num=93001597<ref name="nris">{{cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> }} '''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 over 400 [[Africans]] buried during the [[17th Century|17th]] and [[18th Century|18th centuries]]. ==Africans in New York City== [[Slavery in the United States|Slavery]] in the New York City area was introduced by the Dutch in New Netherlands in the early 1600s. 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. During the Revolutionary war, there were about 10,000 Africans in New York. New York abolished slavery in 1827; New Jersey abolished slavery only gradually, substituting indentureship for slavery in 1804, and at the time of the American Civil War there were former slaves who were still "indentured for life" in New Jersey. <ref name="nyhs_slavery">{{cite web|url=http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/ |title=Slavery in New York, an exhibition by the New York Historical Society |accessdate=2008-02-11|work= |publisher= }}</ref><ref name="hh_slavery">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051107/slavery_in_new_york |quote=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. |title=The Hidden History of Slavery in New York |accessdate=2008-02-11|work= |publisher=[[The Nation]] }}</ref> ==Discovery of site and controversy== The remains were found in 1991 during the construction of the [[Foley Square]] Federal Office Building. Construction was halted in order to properly preserve the remains. A redesign of the building was ordered to provide adequate room for a memorial. On [[April 19]], [[1993]], the site was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]].<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}}</ref><ref name="nrhpinv">{{citation|title={{PDFlink|[http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/93001597.pdf National Register of Historic Places Registration: African Burial Ground]|1.39&nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 1461921 bytes -->}}|date=November 9, 1992|author=Jean Howson and Gale Harris|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="nrhpphotos">{{citation|title={{PDFlink|[http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/93001597.pdf National Register of Historic Places Registration: African Burial Ground--Accompanying 11 photos from 1992.]|1.28&nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 1350946 bytes -->}}|date=November 8, 1992|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> Historians believe the site to have been the interment location for as many as 15,000 to 20,000 African-American men, women, and children over the years of its use, which stretched from the 17th century to its closure in 1812.<ref name="Lombardi">{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/10/05/2007-10-05_memorial_dedicated_at_african_burial_gro.html |title=Memorial dedicated at African Burial Ground |author=Frank Lombardi |quote=The cemetery was covered by waves of development and forgotten until 1991, when 415 bone artifacts and skeletons were unearthed in preparation to erect a federal office building at 290 Broadway. |date=[[October 6]] [[2007]] |publisher=[[The New York Daily News]] |accessdate=2007-10-06}}</ref> New York Governor [[David Paterson]] is reported to have dubbed the grounds "our [[Ellis Island]]".<ref name="Lombardi"/> The construction project became controversial because some believed the research design originally proposed was not adequate. It did not have a plan for the treatment of uncovered remains. In addition, the African-American descendant community in New York City was not consulted in the development of the research design, nor were any archaeologists with 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 (bio-archaeologist)|Michael Blakey]] and his team at [[Howard University]] for study. ==Memorial== On [[February 27]], [[2006]], President [[George W. Bush]] signed a proclamation designating the federal land as the 123rd [[U.S. National Monument|National Monument]].<ref name="nmmap">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/archeology/sites/antiquities/fullMap.htm |title=National Monuments Numbered |accessdate=2007-10-05|work=|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> It was the 390th unit of the [[National Park Service|National Park System]]. As part of the dedication ceremonies, Elk Street was officially renamed African Burial Ground Way.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lowermanhattan.info/news/african_burial_ground_memorial_73099.aspx |title=African Burial Ground Memorial Opening Events |date=[[October 1]] [[2007]] |publisher=[[Lower Manhattan Development Corporation]] |accessdate=2007-10-06}}</ref> A design competition attracted 61 proposals for a site memorial. The winning memorial design 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 a 25-foot granite monument was by [[Haitian-American]] architect [[Rodney Leon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.exodusnews.com/HISTORY/History025.htm |title=Rodney Leon Tapped to Design National Historic Landmark; Winner to Create Memorial for 17th, 18th-Century Africans |date=[[May 6]] [[2005]] |publisher=Exodus News |accessdate=2007-10-06}}</ref> It is titled ''The Door of Return'', in reference to [[The Door of No Return]], a name given to slave ports on the coast of West Africa.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7031142.stm |title=New York opens slave burial site |date=[[October 6]] [[2007]] |quote=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. |publisher=[[BBC News]] |accessdate=2007-10-06}}</ref> The monument was dedicated in a ceremony presided by Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] and poet [[Maya Angelou]].<ref name="BBC"/> ==See also== *[[History of slavery in New York]] *[[History of slavery in New Jersey]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.nps.gov/afbg African Burial Ground National Monument] - Official NPS website * [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060227-6.html African Burial Ground National Monument presidential proclamation] * [http://data2.itc.nps.gov/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=4211 Announcement of National Monument proclamation] * [http://www.africanburialground.gov/ABG_Main.htm African Burial Ground Informational site] - [[General Services Administration|GSA]] {{New York City Historic Sites}} {{Protected Areas of New York}} {{Registered Historic Places}} [[Category:2006 establishments]] [[Category:African American history]] [[Category:Cemeteries in New York City]] [[Category:History of New York City]] [[Category:National Monuments in New York]] [[Category:Registered Historic Places in Manhattan]] [[Category:National Historic Landmarks in New York City]] [[Category:Archaeological sites in New York]] [[de:African Burial Ground]] [[fr:African Burial Ground National Monument]] [[nl:African Burial Ground National Monument]] [[pl:African Burial Ground National Monument]]