Park 5: African American Burial Ground National Monument New York

Today we had plans for a special show in New York City in the evening so we (Catherine, Muriel, and Jason) decided to head over to the city early and visit the African American Burial Ground Monument and Museum. We had a little trouble finding it and had to get out Google Maps for a little help, but it was worth the search!



The Monument is around the corner from the actual museum and we stopped here first to get a feel for the spirit of the place. It is a beautiful black granite monument that features a map of the Atlantic area within the "Circle of Diaspora" in reference to the Middle Passage, by which slaves were transported from Africa to North America. It is built of stone of South Africa and of North America, to symbolize the two worlds coming together.

5/22/12. After we visited the burial ground and monument, we moved inside to the small museum. Because it's a federal building, we needed to go through a scanner and metal detector. We were just in time to watch a lovely film about the museum and history. A marvelous park ranger with a presentation style more like a Baptist minister than a ranger gave us an overview of the museum. This little place is packed with interesting artifacts and designed in a more modern way that helps visitors to interact with the exhibits and even add their reflections and impressions to the exhibits. We got our stamps and enjoyed the fascinating artifacts and information almost until closing!