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The New York Times: Glimpses of New York City’s History Are Still Visible. Here’s Where to Look.
Summary
Michael Blakey, anthropology professor, was featured in the New York Times for his African Burial Ground research project in New York City.
Full Description
“'Slavery was part and parcel of colonialism in the North as it was in the South,' said Michael L. Blakey, an anthropology professor at the College of William and Mary who led the research project for the site.
The burial ground is now a stark reminder of the harsh inequalities and inhumane aspects of the country’s founding. It is also a powerful symbol of human dignity. Mr. Blakey said the burial ground showed how the individuals 'celebrated their humanity.' He pointed to an example of a child who was found with a silver earbob, one 'that they might have exchanged for some money, these impoverished people, but instead put it in the burial of a child.'
Some historians view the burial ground as one of the first institutions that Black people controlled for themselves in New York.
Recent efforts to remove informational exhibits on slavery have been erasing history, Mr. Blakey said. For example, this year, in response to an executive order from President Trump, the National Park Service took down an exhibit that discussed how George Washington owned enslaved people at the site of his home in Philadelphia.
'We’re being asked now to look away,' Mr. Blakey said. But looking closer can reveal a larger truth. 'The African Burial Ground project provided the corporal evidence to defy the omissions and distortions of the past,' he said."