May 8, 2021 at 12 pm ET

Please join the Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center for:

The African Burial Ground 30 Years Later: Impacts on Black Cemeteries

with Dr. Michael Blakey, Dr. Joseph Jones, and Peggy King Jorde.

In 1991, an archaeological survey at a construction site for a General Services Administration building in New York City revealed intact human remains 30 ft below street level on Broadway in Manhattan. Further research was charged to Howard University, which formed the African Burial Ground Project, directed by Dr. Michael Blakey. This project changed what we know about slavery in the North, how we engage with descendant communities, and led to new understandings about what we can learn from Black cemeteries. Join the Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center as we welcome Dr. Blakey to discuss the impacts and legacy of the African Burial Ground project and National Memorial 30 years later. He will be joined by Peggy King Jorde and Dr. Joseph Jones, both of whom worked on the African Burial Grounds project and have continued to advocate for Black cemeteries and descendant communities.