The African Burial Ground

In 1991, during the construction of a General Service Administration building, 419 bodies of African decent were found.

Now, It has been almost 20 years since the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan was discovered, something that significantly raised the public awareness of the colonial African heritage within New York, which was second to having the most African slaves than any other port north of the Caribbean.

Of the 419 bodies that were found at this site it was discovered that they came from, Congo, Ghana, Ashanti, and Benin.

Unfortunately, Only the Burial Park is open on Sundays and Mondays, which, while still moving, does not give visitors much to go on. The Memorial, which contains the coffins and human remains was designed by Mr. Leon and is made of black granite. What is missed however, by not going into the museum, is the history of these people and of Manhattan at this time.

One cannot learn that about half of these bodies are that of children, or see the effects manual labor had on these people. This site is of such importance but without all of the information it is very hard to truly understand it, especially when it is situated around office buildings and the bustle of Manhattan.

Photo from MSNBC.com