Recently I visited the African Burial Ground with my classmates. My teacher and one other lady toured us around. We were first shown artwork that was put into the building as a remembrance to the ancestors. Some of the artwork we seen was Unearthed by Frank Bender, The New Ring Shout by Houston Conwill (Sculptor), Renewal by Tomie Arai, Africa Rising by Barbara Chase-Riboud, and America Song by Clyde Lynds. We then were brought outside where more than 20,000 17th and 18th century slaves were buried, which covers five to six acres of lower Manhattan.

To me the most interesting artwork shown to us, was Unearthed. Unearthed consisted of three actual skulls selected from hundreds of human remains discovered in the African Burial Ground in New York City in 1991. Frank Bender used his forensic skills and fine art skills to unearth the history told by these human remains. Even though these skulls were covered with clay and bronze, when I touched them I felt as if I was touching the actual skull. It was sad to see this artwork but at the same time so very interesting.

When we brought outside and told that the enslaved Africans were buried underneath us I felt so weird every time I took a step. It's sad knowing that you guys are beneath me and knowing the harsh experience you've went through years ago. But I think its great that this site exists and people are getting know the truth about things. Right after I visited the African Burial Ground I was reading the Daily News and passed by an article titled, "African Burial Ground gets rare national honor" by Austin Fenner. It stated that The African Burial Ground was given one of the highest honors yesterday as the White House designated the gravesite as a national monument. It also said that construction is scheduled to begin this year on a granite monument designed by architect Rodney Leon, that will memorialize the dead. For more visit us at http://www.managementthatworks.com