On October 23rd Thursday's Freshman Seminar course got on the bus at 6A.M and drove up to New York City to visit the African Burial Ground. Though we arrived at the museum late, the information presented was very interesting. The first thing that I noticed when we got there was the Sankofa symbol (a friend of mine had drawn a picture of it before but he only described it to be an African heart). What I learned of the Sankofa, from our guide, that it is not just a heart, but a symbol of the importance from learning from the past. What I also noticed outside was the hills in the grass that looked like grave sites to pay respects to the slaves who buried their own loved ones in that corner those years ago.
When my generation was being brought into the world, the discovery of the slaves buried there was being found out by archeologists. These slaves may not have had to work in fields and farms, but they started to build the huge buildings that makes up New York today. The burial ground was a place for these slaves to come together and pay their respects to their loved ones who have passed with a special ceremony.
I have lived in New Jersey all of my life and never knew about the African Burial Ground before I went there with my class. It's amazing of the information that you learn with being around your own race of people and people who have respect and knowledge of their ancestry.
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