African Burial Grounds Project, a forgotten dimension of 9/11
When we remember 9/11, let’s not forget the African Burial Ground Project. During the 1700’s, almost 20,000 African slaves, mostly children, were buried seven blocks from where the World Trade Center (WTC) stood. In 1991, the burial grounds were rediscovered. Community pressure forced the federal government to treat the remains not just with human dignity but historical respect.
The WTC housed the office that held the records and artifacts of the African Burial Ground Project. Although some of the artifacts were lost in 9/11, including a musketball lodged in the skeletal remains of a woman’s chest, miraculously, many of the artifacts were recovered.
A testament: This history will not be forgotten.
