The African Burial Ground

Distillations | Science History Institute

In 1991, as crews broke ground on a new federal office building in lower Manhattan, they discovered human skeletons. It soon became clear that it was the oldest and largest African cemetery in the country. The federal government was ready to keep building, but people from all over the African diaspora were moved to treat this site with dignity, respect, and scientific excellence. When bioarchaeologist Michael Blakey took over, that's exactly what they got. But it wasn't easy.

Credits

Host: Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Resource List

Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race, by Michael Blakey

African Burial Ground Project: Paradigm for Cooperation? by Michael Blakey

The African Burial Ground in New York City: Memory, Spirituality, and Space, by Andrea E. Frohne

The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery, documentary film by David Kutz

Reassessing the “Sankofa Symbol” in New York's African Burial Ground, by Erik R. Seeman

The New York African Burial Ground Final Reports, by multiple authors