African Burial Ground Trip

The first thing that I thought when I heard about the African Burial Ground was, “I never heard anyone talk about an African burial site here in America before, and this is new to my ears." I found the location of the African Burial Ground interesting because of the current geographical settings; you wouldn't guess that something so ancient and sacred would found in lower Manhattan of New York. It’s ironic how the African Burial site is located in the same area of the economic trade center of the world.

When we arrived in New York at the African Burial Ground National Monument, Dr. Carr led us into an African ceremony called libation. The term libation refers to the pouring of liquid as a religious offering or in honor of those who are deceased. In urban areas it is common for people to pour out liquor in remembrance of a family member who has passed away or been killed. I was not aware that this practice was an African tradition.

After the libation had taken place we watched a dramatic document on the history of the African Burial Ground and the ceremony that the Africans held for the deceased. During the efforts of citizens, politicians, anthropologists, scientists and historians, there were many people who did respect the rediscovery of the African Burial site and looked at it as if it had no value. I found that it was ignorant of people to not see any value in this African burial site because the ancestors who buried were slaves and struggled for many years to gain their freedom and rights during this time period. It’s bad enough that our ancestors had to deal with the struggles of being discriminated against, prohibited from education, and not gaining civil rights when they were alive, for them not receive the respect and acknowledgment now is just ludicrous.

The trip to the African Burial Ground has helped me furthermore understand the hardships that our ancestors had experienced. As African Americans we take for granted the advantage to bury our loved ones in a proper manner. With that being said, as African Americans it is necessary for us to understand who we are, where we come from, what we’ve become, how did we did get to where we are , and why haven’t we progressed any further as a people?

-Ramona Williams