This Juneteenth, the African Burial Ground Celebrates the Black Experience

In 1991, construction crews working on a new federal office building at 290 Broadway inadvertently discovered something 30 feet below street level that would halt construction for years: the human remains of 15,000 free and enslaved Africans. It was a stark reminder to the world that Manhattan was just as complicit in the horrors of slavery as the South.

Today, the African Burial Ground National Monument not only honors one of the city’s most important archaeological discoveries, but ensures that the lives of every man, woman and child buried on this land will never be forgotten. This Monday, June 19, the national landmark is hosting a series of free events to mark Juneteenth which commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. 

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the holiday will be celebrated with the following:

• 11 a.m.: Libation and drumming with Cyril Innis Jr. and Eric Frazier
• 11:15 a.m.: Musical performance by Roosevelt Credit
• 11:20 a.m.: A presentation by Higuayagua Taino of the Caribbean
• 11:50 a.m.: Rediscovery of the African Burial Ground with park ranger Emily Welch
• 12 p.m.: Juneteenth and the Second Line with Professor Hermine Pinson
• 12 p.m.: African drumming lessons, jewelry making and junior ranger activities
• 12:30 p.m.: Musical performance by the African Music Mercenaries
• 1:30 p.m.: Musical performance by Terrance Kennedy and the Reach Music Ministry
• 2 p.m.: Dance performance by Uptown Dance Academy
• 3 p.m.: Celebration, sankofa and afrofuturism with Ytasha Womack
• 3:30 p.m.: “Freedom is Not Free,” presented by Dr. Patricia Leonard

To learn more about the African Burial Ground National Monument, check out our Reel below.