New York remembers its slaves


   By Jane Standley
BBC New York correspondent


The first of two days of ceremonies has been taking place in New York to 
re-bury the remains of more than 400 African slaves - which were discovered 
in Lower Manhattan 12 years ago.

Some argued the remains should have been let lie
The remains were found during excavation work for a government building and 
the ceremonies follow a bitter and often controversial struggle over what 
should be done with them.

They are to rest in a permanent memorial.

It is thought about 20,000 African slaves were buried at the site - a 
discovery which has thrown new light on the strength of the slave trade in 
New York in the 18th Century.

The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem punctuated the moving ceremony with song 
and there were prayers, eulogies and speeches from virtually every 
African-American dignitary in New York.

Slaving centre

This has been a politically - as well as an emotionally - charged project.

Some activists say the remains should have been left undisturbed. Others 
believe a larger memorial should have been built over what was once known as 
the Negro Burial Ground, closed in 1794.

City Councillor Charles Barron argues that they did all the hard work 
building New York and their descendants should now be compensated with 
reparations.

"We built New York City," he told mourners.

"We built... Queens, Brooklyn. Manhattan was forest. Your ancestors cut the 
trees down. Your ancestors built the roads and the bridges. Your ancestors 
built this economy."

Information gleaned from the remains is being analysed by historians and is 
expected to reveal a great amount about the lives of slaves in the northern 
United States.

Already the extent of the burial ground has proved that New York was the 
second largest slave-owning city in the country in the 18th Century and that 
many died from literally being worked to death in the construction and 
cotton-processing industries.




Bro. Germaine G. Verdier
Chairman
http://www.vhi-sweden.org

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