New York opens Manhattan African burial memorial

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The African Burial Ground National Monument opened in New York on Friday, marking the final resting place of thousands of slaves buried there.

The Manhattan burial site, which dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, was first discovered in 1991 when builders broke ground for a new federal building.

The city had planned to use the space to build a parking lot, but African-American groups protested, holding a 24-hour vigil and earning the support of elected officials.

Now a 25-foot (7.6-metre) granite monument marks the spot. It was designed by Rodney Leon and evokes a ship, with "Wall of Remembrance" that soars above a "Circle of the Diaspora."

The monument was made out of stone from South Africa and from North America to illustrate the two worlds coming together to form a common experience, Leon said.

"I'm blown away by it," said Melva Adams, 64, a retired teacher who said she learned about her ancestors' enslavement on quilts kept by her family. "They are footprints in the sand, from them to us. I'm very proud."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking at the dedication, said that the excavations had revealed "one of the most uncomfortable and tragic truths in our city's history: For two centuries, slavery was widespread in New York."

Christopher Moore, a historian who was an early champion of the memorial, said smaller burial sites can be found across lower Manhattan, the original settlement that is now New York.

New York did not abolish slavery until 1827, making it one of the last northern states to do so. Slavery was outlawed in the United States following the American Civil War, which ended in 1865.