Fye, thanks for this forward, lest we forget. Chi Jaama Joe Sambou >From: Fye Samateh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Fw: [Network Africa Sweden] New York remembers its slaves >Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 21:57:15 +0200 > >New York remembers its slaves > > > By Jane Standley >BBC New York correspondent > > >The first of two days of ceremonies has been taking place in New York to >re-bury the remains of more than 400 African slaves - which were discovered >in Lower Manhattan 12 years ago. > >Some argued the remains should have been let lie >The remains were found during excavation work for a government building and >the ceremonies follow a bitter and often controversial struggle over what >should be done with them. > >They are to rest in a permanent memorial. > >It is thought about 20,000 African slaves were buried at the site - a >discovery which has thrown new light on the strength of the slave trade in >New York in the 18th Century. > >The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem punctuated the moving ceremony with song >and there were prayers, eulogies and speeches from virtually every >African-American dignitary in New York. > >Slaving centre > >This has been a politically - as well as an emotionally - charged project. > >Some activists say the remains should have been left undisturbed. Others >believe a larger memorial should have been built over what was once known >as >the Negro Burial Ground, closed in 1794. > >City Councillor Charles Barron argues that they did all the hard work >building New York and their descendants should now be compensated with >reparations. > >"We built New York City," he told mourners. > >"We built... Queens, Brooklyn. Manhattan was forest. Your ancestors cut the >trees down. Your ancestors built the roads and the bridges. Your ancestors >built this economy." > >Information gleaned from the remains is being analysed by historians and is >expected to reveal a great amount about the lives of slaves in the northern >United States. > >Already the extent of the burial ground has proved that New York was the >second largest slave-owning city in the country in the 18th Century and >that >many died from literally being worked to death in the construction and >cotton-processing industries. > > > > >Bro. Germaine G. Verdier >Chairman >http://www.vhi-sweden.org > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _________________________________________________________________ Get McAfee virus scanning and cleaning of incoming attachments. Get Hotmail Extra Storage! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~