Fri, September 24, 2021
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM PDT
On the eve of the 30th year anniversary of the discovery of the Lower Manhattan African Burial Ground, Dr. Michael Blakey shares lessons.
About this event
The Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition presents this teach-in as part of our commitment to community engagement and education.
Dr. Blakey will unpack the lessons of creating the National African Burial Ground monument in lower Manhattan.
Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo will share the history of the Moses Macedonia African Cemetery and their current path to halting the further desecration of that site.
Dr. Uzma Rizvi from Pratt Institute and Dr. Thomas Angotti from CUNY will be contributing to the discussion by engaging Dr. Blakey around “Community as Client” and creating a road map for future discoveries.
We’ll discuss:
- the history and legacy of racism in archaeology
- standards for meaningful engagement with African Descendant communities
- the ways that white organizations and professionals think and act to undermine Descendent communities and attempt to deprive of them agency, whether consciously or unconsciously
- tactics and strategies for creating a toolkit for future discoveries of African burial grounds
- memorializing geographies of resistance and more
The teach-in will last 90 minutes which will include a Q + A period.
Here are links to the texts which will be discussed:
Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race
Engaging Descendant Communities in the Interpretation of Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites.
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This program is produced and sponsored by GrowHouse NYC, a proud founding member of the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition.
Also brought by the generous support of the Rapid Response Program and the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities.
Co-sponsored by:
– Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition
– Friends of Geer Cemetery
– African Graves Matter
– African American Cemetery Coalition
– Black Gotham Experience
– Brooklyn Level UP
– Flatbush Mixtape
– The departments of History, American Studies, Anthropology, Art and Classics of Brooklyn College
– The Center for the Study for Brooklyn and AnthroClub of Brooklyn College.