Celebrate the Reinterment at the African Burial Ground

Nineteen years ago, 419 human remains were shipped from a laboratory in Washington D.C. back to their final resting place at the African Burial Ground National Monument in Lower Manhattan. 

The “reinterment,” as it is known, was a chance to restore dignity to the hundreds of free and enslaved Black people who worked and lived in colonial New York, with each skeleton placed in a new hand-carved coffin and lowered into the ground. The burial ground was first discovered in 1991, when routine construction work turned up what was eventually revealed to be a large burial ground for the Black people who were not welcome in the churches and graveyards of white colonial New York. 

Celebrate the anniversary of the reinterment with a series of events in early October, commemorating the history and ceremony of the meaning of the site.

Events run October 4-8, kicking off with a day of drumming, dancing, singing and speakers. The rest of the week will include more music, step dancing, crafts and special guests. See the full schedule and lineup here.  

photo: iStock