Composed of granite, the memorial features seven design elements:  Wall of Remembrance, Ancestral Pillars, Memorial Wall, Ancestral Chamber, Circle of Diaspora, Spiral Procession Ramp, and Ancestral Libation Court.

1. Wall of Remembrance  As one happens by the north wall facing Duane Street you are immediately struck by the scale and detail of a highly polished wall of granite inscribed with following libation text. For all those who were lost For all those who were stolen For all those who were left behind For all those who were not forgotten

2. Ancestral Re-interment Grove   A path extends itself north to south from Duane Street. Along this path are seven burial mounds marking the locations of the seven large sarcophagi containing the remains of the 419 African descendants that were re-interred in October of 2003. In addition, a grove of seven trees create a natural buffer and shelter between the re-interment zone and adjacent building. The burial mounds serve as markers and the trees as guardians for the entrance to the Libation Chamber. It is appropriate to place flowers and other offerings along the path in front of the burial mounds.

3. Memorial Wall  The Southern wall of the Libation Chamber shall be engraved with a map containing images and text describing the components of the African Burial Ground National Monument site in context of the burial ground's actual boundaries in lower Manhattan. This map will allow people to understand the extent and scope of the burial ground's actual size which extends significantly beyond the boundaries of the memorial site.

4. The Ancestral Chamber  Intended to reflect African cultural, spiritual and ancestral essence. This spiritual form rises out of the ground like an ancestral pillar and represents the soaring African spirit embracing and comforting all those who enter. The Ancestral Chamber is oriented towards the east and open to the sky above, allowing natural light to penetrate and illuminate the interior space. The interior of the Ancestral Chamber provides a sacred space for individual contemplation, reflection, meditation and prayer.

5. Circle of the Diaspora  Signs, symbols and images of the African Diaspora are engraved around the perimeter wall encircling the Libation Court. These symbols come from different areas and cultures throughout the Diaspora, especially Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Symbolic meaning is described below the image. As one circumambulates around the perimeter of the court and spirals down the processional ramp, these symbols present themselves as a reminder of the complexity and diversity of African culture's manifestation. They all come together to form a communal place and a reminder of the Burial Ground being an international center of gathering.

6. Spiral Processional Ramp  The Spiral Processional Ramp descends down 4' below street level thereby bringing the visitor physically, psychologically and spiritually closer to the ancestors and original interment level. The ramp and stairs serve as bridges between the living and the spiritual realm. They symbolize the process of transcendence from physical to spiritual and passage from profane to sacred. The process will evolve from the public "secular" space of the city to the spiritual space of the Libation Court and culminate in the sacred space of the Ancestral Chamber.

7. Ancestral Libation Court   The Ancestral Libation Court is situated on axis with the Ancestral Chamber. It is located 4' below street level, providing a physical and psychological separation from the public activity of the surrounding urban environment. The Libation Court is a communal gathering place where small to medium-scale public cultural ceremonies may occur. This spiritual space is where reconsecration of the African Burial Ground National Monument will continually take place during the libation or other ceremonial rituals. The sacred ceremonial ritual of "libation" is the act which will serve as an offering and an acknowledgement linking past, present and future generations in the spirit of Sankofa {An Adinkra symbol of West Africa meaning 'learn from the past').

Outdoor monument, adjacent to the Ted Weiss Federal Building 

Holds an interpretive center on the first floor for the burial ground. 

Outdoor Memorial at Night 

Exhibits  

The Burial Ground is the nation’s earliest and largest African burial ground rediscovered in the United States. 

Preliminary archaeological research excavation found intact human skeletal remains located 30 feet below the city’s street level on Broadway.  

Memorial Dedication 

Ancestral Chamber, looking out from within 

Ancestral Chamber, looking up from within 

Signs, symbols and images of the African Diaspora are engraved 

A 6-acre burial ground containing upwards of 15,000 intact skeletal remains of enslaved and free Africans who lived and worked in colonial New York.  

The Burial Ground dates from the middle 1630s to 1795. 

Baron - Male Cemetery Guardian 

Mate Masie - Wisdom and Prudence 

Nsibidi Symbol - Love and Unity 

Dwennimmen - Humility and Strength 

Akoma Ntoso - Understanding 

Denkyem - Adaptability 

Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu - Unity in Diversity 

Akoma - Endurance 

Inscription on the Circle of Diaspora 

Landscape around the memorial 

A libation ceremony 

Exploring Lower Manhattan : African Burial Ground 

Artist's impression of the monument 

Competition proposal : Plan and 3D rendering 

Competition proposal : 3D rendering of the Memorial wall and Ancestral Chamber 

Competition proposal : 3D rendering Circle of Diaspora, the Spiral Processional Ramp 

Competition proposal : 3D rendering of the Ancestral Libation court and chamber 

A plan of the City of New York, 1755 by Francis W Maerschalck 

Document created by the National Parks Service, 2011  Includes text, location map, and color illustrations, part of an early map showing "Negro Burial Ground", small outline map of Africa

1994 - Foley Square Federal Office Building  Designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, was designed to be among the most energy-efficient buildings in its class. Construction was delayed by the African Burial Ground which inspired the artwork commissioned for the building. The building is named for Ted Weiss, deceased Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. In October 1991, intact burials of human remains were discovered during an archeological survey and excavation. The agency had done an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to purchase of the site, but the archeological survey had predicted that human remains would not be found because of the long history of urban development in that area. Initially, GSA had planned full archeological retrieval of the remains as full mitigation of the effects of its construction project on the burial ground. Within the year, its teams removed the remains of 420 persons from the site, but it had become clear that the extent of the burial ground was too large to be fully excavated. In 1992, activists staged a protest at the site about GSA's handling of the burial issue, especially when it was found that some intact burials were broken up during construction excavation at part of the site. GSA halted construction until the site could be thoroughly assessed. It provided additional funding to conduct a further archaeological excavation to reveal any other bodies on the site and to assess the remains. After controversy and negotiations, the plans were modified and the design for the pavilion was removed from the building plans. In lieu of the pavilion, a 50-foot high interior arcade with a vaulted top was constructed.

1697 - African Burial Ground  The burial ground in use for New York Town residents in the late 1600s was located at what is now the north graveyard of Trinity Church (of the Anglican / Church of England – today the Episcopal Church U.S.A.). The public burial ground was open to all for a fee, including to enslaved Africans. Some burials of deceased slaves were made just south of the public burial ground to avoid the fee. After Trinity was established as a parish church in 1697, the vestryman of the church began taking control of land in Lower Manhattan, including existing public burial grounds. When Trinity purchased the land at Wall Street and Broadway for the construction of their church, they passed a resolution on October 25, 1697: "That after the Expiration of four weeks from the dates hereof no Negro's be buried within the bounds & Limitts of the Church Yard of Trinity Church, that is to say, in the rear of the present burying place & that no person or Negro whatsoever, do presume after the terme above Limitted to break up any ground for the burying of his Negro, as they will answer it at their perill & that this order be forthwith publish'd." This prohibition against the burial of those of African descent necessitated finding another area acceptable to the colonial authorities. What would become the "Negro's Burial Ground" was located on what was then the outskirts of the developed town, just north of present-day Chambers Street and west of the former Collect Pond (later Five Points). Labeled on old maps as the "Negros Burial Ground," the 6.6-acre area was first recorded as being used around 1712 for the burials of enslaved and freed people of African descent. The first burials may date from the late 1690s after Trinity barred African burials in the former city cemetery. After the city closed the cemetery in 1794, the area was plotted for development. The grade of the land was raised with up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) of landfill at the lowest points covering the cemetery, thus preserving the burials and the original grade level. As urban development took place over the fill, the burial ground was largely forgotten. In October 1991, the United States Government agency, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the discovery (or rediscovery) of intact burials during an archaeological survey and excavation for the construction of a new $275 million federal office building planned at 290 Broadway between Reade and Chambers Streets.

1963 - GSA Arts in Architecture  The GSA Art in Architecture Program oversees the commissioning of artworks for new federal buildings nationwide. These artworks enhance the civic meaning of federal architecture and showcase the vibrancy of American visual arts. Artworks commissioned to honor the discovery of the African Burial Ground and installed in the Ted Weiss Federal Building include American Song, Renewal, The New Ring Shout, Untitled

1998 - Africa Rising  Commissioned by the US General Services Administration's Art in Architecture Program. In the form of a new classical representation, the sculpture pays homage to the African Burial Site and the transport of Africans to this land, their bondage and struggle for freedom. The work also expresses an interrelationship between all races and backgrounds of people in the United States. For this project, the Artist also composed a poem, of the same title, which chronicles the plight of the African slaves and honors their heroism.

1994 - Roger Brown 'Untitled' Mosaic  This work is a mosaic that depict hexagonal skulls that merge into heads toward the top of the scene. The work is sited near a historic site: New York's African Burial Ground. In the 18th century, this space was the burial site for 10 to 20 thousand enslaved African Americans and working class citizens. It was discovered centuries later. Along with paying homage to those who were laid to rest on this site, Brown also remembers those who lost their lives to AIDS in his iconography. Roger Brown was a leading painter of the Chicago-Imagist style. For this project, Brown initially painted his image on canvass and then had the composition transformed by skilled artisans in Italy of special glass mosaics. All aspects of the work were accomplished to Brown’s satisfaction; assembled and installed under his guidance. Of his work, Brown said, “On this ancient cemetery site below the modern skyline of New York City a contemporary tapestry of human faces, each made thin and hollow by the ravages of AIDS, descends like some medieval nightmare into a mosaic of death heads in memory of those of all races who have suffered and died too soon.”

1995 - American Song  Commissioned by the US General Service Administration's Art in Architecture Program. This sculpture is Lynds’ tribute to the history of the site and to all people who strive for freedom. It is an embodiment of American independence; by night, the sculpture is transformed by lighting effects that add visual radiance to the idea of freedom. America Song is a relief sculpture sited at the building’s main entrance. The cast concrete is embedded with fiber optics, which in the evening emit moving light across the surface of the image. Sandblasted on stone below the sculpture is the poem I want to be free/Want to be free,/Rainbow’ round my shoulder/Wings on my feet, written by an anonymous African poet.

1994 - New Ring Shout  This public art installation commemorates the 18th century African Burial Ground, partially excavated in 1992. In the tradition of world ceremonial markings, it features a forty foot diameter illuminated terrazzo and polished brass "dance" floor and is designed as a tribute to the thousands of Africans, Indians and Europeans buried there. Commissioned by the US General Services Administration's Art in Architecture Program The design of the work is in the tradition of world ceremonial ground markings and the name is after the historical ring shout dance of celebration performed throughout North America and the Caribbean. The work contains a multi-layering of patterns, symbols and texts and languages and is intended to foster greater cultural awareness, racial harmony and understanding.

2003 - Unearthed  This piece, made of finished bronze with patina, is made by Frank Bender, a sculptor renowned for his work on forensic facial identifications. Bender used human remains discovered in an African Burial Ground in 1991 and selected three skulls to work with. Said Bender, "I held the eldest woman's skull in my hands and felt that she had endured the most. The younger woman with the bandana had been shot in the back. The young man in the background, the youngest and tallest of the three, is rising for a hope-filled future. The three hands joined together in the earth convey the idea that "we are all one in death."