African Burial Ground National Monument

From the 1690s until 1794, an estimated 15,000 enslaved and free Africans were laid to rest in the African Burial Ground. In 1991, during construction of the Ted Weiss Federal Building, 419 human skeletal remains were exhumed, and the rediscovery of the cemetery sparked vigorous efforts to preserve this hallowed ground. In 1993, a small portion of the original 6.6-acre cemetery became the first below-ground New York City landmark and a national historic landmark. Proclaimed on February 27, 2006, African Burial Ground National Monument is widely regarded as one of America’s most significant archeological finds of the 20th century and is also a place of remembrance and reflection. The Circle of the Diaspora reflects the forced removal of Africans from their homeland to different parts of the world, as well as Africans’ unwavering spirit and ability to adapt, through cultural and spiritual images from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and other areas throughout the Diaspora. The 24-foot-high Ancestral Chamber represents the soaring African spirit and the distance below the ground from which the ancestral remains were exhumed; made of Verde Fontaine green granite from Africa, it bears a heart like Sankofa symbol from West Africa meaning “to learn from the past to prepare for the future,” and its exterior recalls a ship’s hold while providing a place for individual contemplation and prayer. On October 4, 2003, the exhumed ancestral remains were reburied on this site in hand-carved wooden coffins made in Ghana and lined with Kente cloth, placed in seven crypts as close as possible to the original burial positions with heads facing west, and marked by seven burial mounds.

New York, New York · United States