By AFRO Staff
Local students learned about Black history on a recent trip to New York. (Courtesy Photo)
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(June 26, 2009) - {Students from Digital Harbor High School and their trip to New York’s Historical African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan were featured in last week’s edition of the Baltimore ‘AFRO.’ This week, they’ve written essays detailing their personal experiences and observations. The following essays, titled “My Experience at the African Burial Ground,” also reflect how the one-day trip reshaped their views on history.}
Vernon L. Wilson
National Academy Foundation High School
Grade 11
When first arriving to the African Burial Ground, I was restless from the long bus ride to New York. However, I was amazed by the film presentation and detailed discussion of the history of the slave trade experience. Moreover, I was impressed with the discovery of the African Burial Ground. The thought of this made for an extremely sad mood.
Sadness was not the only inner emotion I felt during my visit, but a sense of gratitude went over me as I learned that my ancestors built a place as fine as New York City. It made me feel proud and the idea put a smile on my face.
I learned a lot of important information concerning the history of plantation life for slaves in New York. I learned that slaves were not only kept in southern states, but New York was the second largest home for slavery and there are at least 15 or 20 thousand remains of our ancestors still buried beneath the grounds of the National Monument of the African Burial Ground location. I was astonished to learn that our ancestors resting place and memories have become a national landmark.
All in all it was a life changing experience and I gained a lot of information. I saw art figures and images that will leave life long memories in my mind. I will always think about the symbols that represent humanity.
I recommend members of the African American race to visit this national monument so they may view and learn the values of our history. When I returned from my tour of the African Burial Ground, I shared information about my experience with my grandmother. Although, she was familiar with most of its details, I also informed my younger brother to expand his knowledge as well.
David Miles Allen
Westside Elementary School
Grade 2
I had a great time visiting the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City on Monday June 15, 2009. It is fun and sad all at the same time learning about my ancestors. Fun because I watched a video, looked at beautiful art work and toured the monument. Sad because the slaves look just like you and me, the only difference is they had scars all over their bodies and wore rags for clothes.
My mom and I read about slaves like Nat Turner and Harriet Tubman all the time. The trip to the monument brought the stories and the people to life.
My ancestors were strong people and all they wanted was their freedom. My mom and dad say that it is important to learn about our past so that slaver will never come back. Thank you Afro American Newspaper for letting me and others learn more about slavery.
Jameela Smith
Western Senior High School
Grade 9
In history class, the same story is usually told about slaves. They were taken from Africa and were traded for goods down in the South. After going to the African Burial Ground in New York City, I learned that there is much more to the story than I ever imagined.
When we first arrived, I didn’t understand why we were in New York City to learn about slaves. I thought that slaves were only brought to the South. As the day went on, my confusion was erased and filled with understanding. I learned that the enslaved Africans basically built New York simply because they didn’t let their situation destroy their spirits. They looked to the past to determine their future and I admire that.
All in all, I learned so much about my ancestors. It makes me appreciate them more and to be grateful for what they did to help the world today. The African Burial Ground was a wonderful experience and I am grateful that I was able to experience it.
Tierra Johnson
Overlea High School
Grade 11
My experience of the African Burial Grounds was amazing. I had a wonderful time learning about my culture. My reaction to visiting the site was an honor because the labor of our ancestors was remembered by the making of this national monument called the African Burial Ground. I was saddened by the thoughts of our ancestors being enslaved and enduring pain and suffering.
The new information I learned from my visit of the African Burial Grounds was our ancestors found meaning through participation in culture rituals. Although there were extraordinary assaults on their humanity, they maintained a sense of dignity.
I think it was very important and I also learned that men, women and children died daily due to malnutrition, physical strain, punishment and diseases such as yellow fever and small pox in the colonial of New York slave plantations. I think that is very sad and painful.
When I returned home from the trip of the African Burial Grounds, I shared my experience with my mother because I knew I learned information that she didn’t know. I also shared my experience with my siblings so they would know more about their ancestors and know what our ancestors became, which was wonderful legends. Thank you for allowing us to take this trip, it was very interesting and educational.
LaChelle Manning
National Academy Foundation High School
Grade 11
When Ms. Robinson told us that we were going to the African Burial Ground, I felt a concern. Any time someone talks to me about going to see buried people, I worry. But the word African impacted me since I knew that it would be an emotional experience.
Once we arrived and I saw some familiar African tribe names and names of some famous African Americans, I recognized that most of the names were of people I never heard of and that made me wonder about all of the other people who helped to bring the world where it is today.
After meeting our tour guide, he showed us a film presentation containing information about the discovery of bodies buried beneath the location of the New York City Federal Building. The discovery was made while digging to build a parking garage, recovering bones of our ancestors.
An archaeologist examined the bones and during the process of study, the archaeologist also found a map for the location and learned that what laid beneath the grounds of the Federal Building was an African burial ground.
In fact, information in the film displayed photographs taken of the skeleton bodies of our ancestors who lay while holding babies in their arms. I was sad and it was difficult to look and listen.
I was watching my aunt’s face while watching the video. She was very attentive and I noticed that we were learning information that left an emotional impact. It was difficult to watch and learn because those ancestors are individuals we will never have the chance to know.
It makes me wonder how life would’ve been if slavery never existed. I asked myself questions such as “Would I be living in Africa right now?” “What would my tribe be and what language would I speak?”
I think the trip was good for me and other students because it’s very important to know your history. I think it is also good to know how important it is to be proud of who you are and no matter what has happened, be glad you know you’ve been taught lessons to pass on to your family. They will never forget the struggles of our ancestors.
Paige Fasoore
Eastern Technical High School
2010 Graduating Senior
On June 15, 2009, I had the opportunity to visit New York City’s historical African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan. I learned African history that I previously was unaware of.
When we arrived to the African burial ground site, we walked through an airport-like security gate. We proceeded to the visitors’ center and watched a short film on the history of the “Negro Burial Ground,” as it was once called. After that our tour guide enlightened us on the more elaborate history of the Slave Trade and the conditions of it in New York.
We learned that the enslaved Africans were brought to the colony in 1626. When the British overruled the colony, the Africans entered a world of oppression. While hearing the history and walking along the memorial, many feelings began to stir inside of me. I felt pride, disappointment and grief.
I felt proud of my African ancestors. New York City was built on the backs of enslaved Africans. They deserve the honor we give them and much more. Children, men and women died daily from the poor living conditions and back breaking work. I was disappointed that most of the burial ground sits today beneath sidewalks and buildings. People walk on concrete where history and remarkable stories lay below and many of them have no idea that they are walking on the African Burial Ground.
The African Burial Ground was rediscovered in 1991 when digging up the foundation to create the Federal Building. They were buried in the African Burial Ground by loved ones. In fact, it is almost seven acres and is believed to be the resting place of some 15,000 African remains.
When I arrived home, I was able to share my experience with my mother. We bonded and shared our feelings. She learned facts from me that she never knew and it was an amazing experience.
Tamar Smith
Digital Harbor High School
On June 15, 2009, I participated with the trip to the African Burial Ground in New York City with my school mates and teachers of Digital Harbor High School. The bus ride from Maryland to New York was long but I believe the tour was worth the long travel just to learn a tad bit more about African history.
Once I entered the lobby, I noticed the bronze statue named Africa Rising which was a figure of a African woman standing tall. I like this art figure because in its own way, it resembled the slaves’ ambition as an image of their freedom.
There were other art works located in the lobby of the African Burial Ground location such as a large circle structure in the center of the floor that read several inscriptions of quotes made by Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and many others, in fact, one block of the circle read King’s speech of “I Have a Dream.”
After viewing the art sculptures of the tour, we visited the memorial land of the African Burial Ground. My experience has been very influential and it has shown me the effects slavery has had on African American history and its culture.
Also, learned beneath the grounds of the African Burial Ground site are at least 1000 remains still buried and these ancestors are of infant babies, teens and elders. Also, there are infants who were laid to rest in the arms of the buried mother.
I shared this information with some friends and family members and I did share with my cousins the various kinds of African symbols and their meanings the n I discussed with them the details of what happened to the slaves and their living conditions.
Markese Raley
National Academy Foundations
Grade 11
I really enjoyed our trip to New York this week. There were many memorable events that occurred while we were there. The first one that comes to mind is when we arrived on site at the burial grounds. All I could see were sky scraping buildings all around us as far as the eyes could see. This was a surprise to me because I knew we were supposed to be visiting a burial ground. I did not see any graves in site.
I learned a lot on this trip. I never thought a place like New York had slaves because I thought slaves lived on plantations and I thought since New York is a northern state that there was no slavery.
The Dutch would go to Africa to bring the slaves here to America. We learned that the African people were packed in ships for long periods of time and some of them were sick and some even died while shackled to each other. During our tour at the African Burial Ground, I felt so many different emotions from viewing the film. We then went outside and I saw that every where I looked, there were tall buildings, which then let me know they had built over top of many of the graves that were there.
I was amazed by the hardship slaves had endured but they still found a way to communicate and hold onto some of their traditions even though they were not allowed to by their owners. They showed us symbols that were used and we still can see some of these symbols in the buildings and their surroundings that exist today.
My mom asked me did I enjoy the trip and if I had learned anything while I was there. I told her that I had a lot of questions answered about things I never knew happened. I told her that I am glad people fought to keep the burial ground from being destroyed so that we could all see it and remember our ancestor’s history of their journey from Africa to America.
Patrick Anselme
Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
Grade 6
My personal reaction to the African Burial Ground tour was sadness. I cried because of how the Africans were treated as slaves. In the brief film that was shown, I saw how the Africans were beaten, forced on boats and deprived of food. I felt mad at the slave owners for how they sold my ancestors on the street and did not allow them to sleep, eat or bathe.
I felt that the Africans should have been treated better since the owners were treated as royalty. The film provided a visual reference of how African slaves were mistreated and expanded my knowledge of things I read in history books.
Some new information that I learned were the symbols the Africans made to communicate with other Africans and how they wrote on the cell walls to show how they felt. If they treated the slave owners with disrespect, they were hung from trees, beaten, or locked in a cage with chains around their arms, legs and even necks.
If they really showed disrespect, they were tied to logs or poles and were burned to death. I learned that 40% of the slaves that died were children. I also learned that men, women, and children each had different places to be buried. When a mother and her baby died, the slave owner would dig a square hole and place both the mother and baby in the hole with the baby in the mother’s arms. Further, the ship that the slaves traveled on was shaped like a triangle and the back of the ship pointed to Africa: their home.
I shared my experience with my mom. I told her all about how the slaves were mistreated and that there were over 400 slaves buried at the African Burial Ground. My mom responded by saying that she was happy that I got an opportunity to learn about my ancestors and she was also interested because she did not know that slaves were buried in New York or about the burial ground.
I told my mom about the symbols the slaves made to stay in touch with each other. I also told her about the boat that the slaves traveled on and how they were put on top of each other because there was not enough room for them to be comfortable. I am happy that I got to see and learn more about my history. This wan an experience that I will not forget and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.
Ashley Harrison
Alumni of Digital Harbor High School
My experience to the African Burial Grounds was an enlightening yet very informative and interesting since I never expected to gain the kind of knowledge about the African Slave Trade experience. I enjoyed the tour director’s presentation. The students and I viewed a film that focused on the 1991 discovery of the slaves buried in New York.
The tour director spoke well about the matters of the African American race. The information that was given was important because none of us ever knew that there were slave plantations in New York. My personal reaction to this evidence was sad because I was hurt to know and see the treatment my ancestors endured. To visualize the information of the film on our tour brought tears to my eyes.
Moreover, I’ve learned a lot of new information while visiting the African Burial Grounds. I learned that 419 remains are still buried at the African Burial Ground site. In addition, I also learned several African symbols, names of African handmade art such as the Sankofa symbol, the West African Akan symbol and the hand carved mahogany coffins where the bodies of our ancestors were laid to rest.
New York is a primary location for the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade of the lower Manhattan area. The Africans were separated from their families and were shipped across the Atlantic. The information that caught my attention was in the 17th and 18th centuries, more than one quarter of the labor force was enslaved.
I shared this experience with my cousins, friends and former teachers of Digital Harbor High School. I wished to have shared my experience with more of my family so they can also learn and broaden their horizons and become familiar with the unfamiliar just as I did on June 15, 2009.