The African Burial Ground

My overall impression of the lecture that Professor Mack brought forth to the class of 2015 gave me a vivid understanding of the African Burial Ground. From the lecture I learned that many Americans didn’t know or didn’t want to know how important the sacred grounds were to the African American culture.

From the pictures that I seen from the lecture gave me a basic understanding of what my ancestors went through and why the life expectancy was so low. Although I try not to dwell on the past but the pain that my people went through was just unbearable. Several of the pictures that were shown during the presentation were of skeletal remains. Also some of the pictures showed African culture for example; one picture had the skeletal remains of an adult but also buried with the body were babies. The significance of this was that Africans felt that the child shouldn’t go on to a higher power with out its guardian. The sad thing is that majority of the bodies that were buried were of children.

The monument is so important because both free and enslaved Africans were buried in a 6.6-acre burial ground. I think it’s a place that should be highly respected because of its significance. If I chose to attend the African Burial Ground Monument I think I would be very quiet and attentive. The reason why I would act like this is because it’s similar to a cemetery where you pay respect to the ones that have gone on.

I think Howard University has chosen to study the remains because they know the importance of our culture and our heritage. I think it’s a way to give back to the people that made it possible so that they can study things at a higher level. Just by this huge satisfaction I’m honored to be apart of the Howard University legacy. This gives me the urge to want to give back to my community and to my school because other people did the same thing to make it possible so that I could attend college.

Niesha S. Bush