Statement of Senator Clinton on Opening of New African Burial Ground Memorial

Statement of Senator Clinton on Opening of New African Burial Ground Memorial

Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the following statement on the opening today of a new memorial recognizing the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan:

"This is an important moment in recognizing the extraordinary contribution African Americans have made to New York and our country. This new memorial will help New Yorkers and people from across the country and around the world learn about our past and honor those who sacrificed so much. But this memorial must only be a first step and that’s why I have introduced legislation to establish the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at this historic site."

Senator Clinton and Representative Jerrold Nadler have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress to establish the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center in Lower Manhattan. The proposed site, near City Hall, is located within the African Burial Ground National Historic Landmark, an area in Lower Manhattan that holds the remains of an estimated 20,000 enslaved Africans and an early-generation African Americans from the colonial era. The area has also been designated a National Monument and a New York Historic District.

The African Burial Ground International Museum and Educational Center will preserve the legacy of those buried in Lower Manhattan at the African Burial Ground and all those they represent. The site includes DNA samples from the human remains that will enable researchers to trace the home roots in Africa of those individuals buried there. It has been called one of the most significant archaeological finds in U.S. history. The Museum and Educational Center will be managed by the National Park Service in consultation with African Burial Ground Advisory Council, which will be comprised of representatives of Federal, State and local government and organizations that are committed to the legacy of the African Burial Ground.

Senator Clinton first introduced this legislation during the 109th Congress. Earlier this year, Senator Clinton joined with Senator Schumer and Representatives Rangel, Nadler and Meeks to send a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg urging him to provide a city-owned building to assist with the establishment of this museum.

http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=285094&&

created out of wages African Americans never saw...you have to hand over much of the success of the country to those people who did the work. Sure settlers worked hard and many white people came over as indentured, but really the huge amount of American agricultural wealth was all about african americans. And we cannot say that enough.