![]() | The African Burial Ground in New York City: Memory, Spirituality, and Space In 1991, archaeologists in lower Manhattan unearthed a stunning discovery. Buried for more than 200 years was a communal cemetery containing the remains of up to 20,000 people. At roughly 6.6 acres, the African Burial Ground is the largest and earliest known burial space of African descendants in North America. In the years that followed its discovery, citizens and activists fought tirelessly to demand respectful treatment of eighteenth-century funerary remains and sacred ancestors. After more than a decade of political battle--on local and national levels--and scientific research at Howard University, the remains were eventually reburied on the site in 2003. Andrea E. Frohne is associate professor of African art history at Ohio University with a joint appointment in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and the School of Art and Design. |
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