African Burial Ground Trip by Jordan Henry

                On October 16, our freshman seminar class traveled to Manhattan to visit the African Burial Ground.  Before going on this trip I did not know what to really expect or how to feel.  I thought we were just going to go to a boring museum where we would probably be lectured, but I definitely had a huge change of perspective after the trip. 

                When were first arrived to the African Burial Ground we were given a lecture by Dr. Carr.  I noticed a number of graves along the sides with flowers lying on top of them.  Dr. Carr explained that those graves belonged to actual slaves that once lived in New York.  He also told us that there were hundreds of other slaves buried under were we stood as well.  He then offered respect by pouring water and chanting prayers to our ancestors that suffered so much just so we could have the opportunities that we are fortunate enough to have today.  We introduced to our tour guide who went into great depth about the history and significance of the ground were all standing on.  He showed us a memorial that displayed symbols and meanings that were created by the African culture.

Our tour guide also explained that over a few decades ago, hundreds of African slave remains were found under the ground of where a company was trying to do construction over.  African Americans from all over were outraged by this, so many began to protest and march to save these sacred grounds of our ancestors.  The company was eventually sued and the African American community was able to save the land.  Some of the remains of these slaves were sent to Howard University to be studied and they were able to discover things like the age, sex, and physical conditions of the slaves when they died.  Studies showed that many died young from sickness and from being overworked.  This information was proven when we were lead into a room to watch a documentary about the rituals of slave burials and we saw scenes from the actual African Burial Trials.  We then went into the museum where we looked at the different things such as New York State slave laws and actual traps used to capture slaves in Africa.

The whole trip was depressing in a way, but very positive at the same time because it made me very proud to come from a people that fought so hard just so our generation could have the opportunities that we had today.  It definitely opened and I now have a whole new perspective on my ancestors and my history.  I have the upmost respect for those individuals who came before me and I interested to study more about the African culture.