It was time to go to your next destination on your 30 Plus Teams Tour of New York City , the African Burial Ground National Monument .
Your cousin looks in her guidebook as to where the monument really is located .
The book says that it’s located on Elk Street in Lower Manhattan , but it also says that Elk Street is known by another name.
The African Burial Ground Way.
The three of you can see Elk Street from where you’re standing .
As you turn the corner , there it is .
It’s a simple but very moving monument to the remains of roughly 419 African slaves and free men in the late 17th and 18th Century .
As you all read a little bit of the history of Slavery on the monument walls , none of you were aware that before the Revolutionary War , next to Charleston , South Carolina , it was New York City , of all places , that had the second largest number of slaves .
None of the free men or slaves could be buried in church courtyards in New York City .
They had to be buried outside of the city limits .
These places were called ” Negros Burial Grounds.”
You all look at the black stone and just shake your heads.
You can’t believe that this was a part of American History that you all couldn’t believe would happen in of all places, New York City .
But it did .
As you all read the words on the stone , you can’t talk .
You’re speechless .
“FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE LOST
FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE STOLEN
FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE LEFT BEHIND
FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE NOT FORGOTTEN.”