African American Burial Ground

I had the privilege of visiting the African American burial ground in New York with my freshman seminar class this semester. The experience was very enlightening and I attained a lot of knowledge I lacked prior to the experience. I had no idea the burial ground existed until it was presented to the seminar class and I was eager for the trip. I must admit, however, I didn’t have such a great time traveling to New York. The bus ride was very long and exhausting and we were only in the city for a short time and turned back around. I learned that in 1991 the construction of a Federal building was scheduled; during construction remains were discovered of hundreds of African slaves. African-Americans from all around came to NY to protest the continuation of the construction over the remains. Ultimately the community got their wish and the Federal building was constructed across the street and a museum was built to house the remains and inform the public of their history. The remains that were discovered were those of African slaves brought to the once country in the city of NY. They were some of the first to arrive in the country and were the builders of the city. The original burial ground was where the Africans paid their respects to their loved ones. As time continued and the city expanded the once burial ground was covered. I learned history from Egypt to the present time outside of the museum by a very knowledgeable speaker. After the tour we were able to go on our own. That part of the trip was very short and a little disappointing being that it was my first trip to NY.

Erin White