The Flatbush African Burial Ground (FABG) is a Black-American cemetery traced back to the 1600s. It is situated at 2286 Church Street in Brooklyn, New York City (NYC). It borders Bedford Street to the east, Erasmus Hall High School to the south, Church Avenue to the north, and two privately owned premises to the west (Schneiderman & Horn, 2021). From 1654 to the mid-18th century, the land is believed to have been under the proprietorship of the Flatbush Reformed Church. It was later occupied by a school that became the NYC landmark in 2007 but was destroyed in 2015 because of substandard structures, which raised safety concerns. Currently, the area is a dry parcel of land surrounded by fences.
The FABG was unearthed in 2001 after an archeological examination of the 2286 Church Avenue grounds revealed human remnants and relics indicating a graveyard. A physical anthropologist who examined the dismembered remnants confirmed that they belonged to people with African ancestry. The FABG now lies on a piece of land believed to be part of a neighborhood formerly inhabited by the Munsee Lenape and Canarsie indigenous groups (Rao, 2021). The groups were later expelled from the region by the European colonists (Dutch), leading to the formation of the Flatbush neighborhood in 1651, which became an epicenter for local farms. During the 18th century, most Dutch families living in Flatbush had enslaved Africans. The Flatbush Reformed Church, established in 1654, had a churchyard where the Dutch families could be interred; however, enslaved people were not allowed to be buried in this graveyard (Schneiderman & Horn, 2021). Over time, an isolated African graveyard was created in the church premises at the junction of what is presently known as Bedford and Church Avenues.
Initially, the FABG was not indicated on the region’s original maps. Nevertheless, after an 1855 Flatbush map was discovered from the Center for Brooklyn History’s records in 2020, and combined with georeferencing techniques, the geographic outline of the burial place was identified. According to the map, this area was labeled as the “Negro Burying Ground.” It was estimated to be 26 feet to the east, 124.5 feet to the south, 61 feet to the west and 130.2 feet to the north (Schneiderman & Horn, 2021). The difficulty in pinpointing the graveyards for African slaves has been linked to poor records. Some archeologists maintain that cemeteries for enslaved Africans were excluded from written histories, property records, or other sources used to show burial locations in NYC.
The FABG is believed to have been used as a cemetery between the 1600s to the early 1840s. Reports indicate the discovery of human remnants in 1842 during the excavation of Flatbush’s School No.1 basement in Church Avenue (Strahan, 2021). In this case, the remnants were exhumed and reburied within Flatbush Reformed Church’s premises, next to the Holy Cross Cemetery. An 1895 article revealed that human remains were identified during the excavation of Van Dyke’s house towards the end of the 18th century. The house was positioned at the southeastern corner of the junction between the Bedford and Church Avenues. In addition, some newspaper articles written from 1890 to 1904 indicate the discovery of human remnants in distinct cases of sewer excavations on Church and Bedford Avenues, close to the intersection (Schneiderman & Horn, 2021). FABG is believed to have been once more extensive, stretching further on the west alongside what is now Church Avenue. Therefore, adequate evidence is that FABG was previously used as a burial location.
Only two irrefutable names of people interred at the FABG have been discovered. In this case, Schenck Peter’s book “A Historical Sketch of the Zabriskie Homestead in Flatbush, L.I,” published in 1881, outlines information regarding some former residents of the Zabriske homestead. The home was once located a block away from the FAGB. In the book, Sara Hicks, a formerly enslaved woman, discloses that her sister, Phyllis Jacobs, was buried in the FABG. Additionally, in 1810, the Long Island Star, an NYC daily newspaper, published an obituary for a former slave woman called Eve. She was reported to have been around 110 years old at the time of her demise and was buried in the FABG (Schneiderman & Horn, 2021). The two scenarios affirm that the graveyard contains the remnants of former slaves, most of the African lineage. In 2019, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mathieu Eugene, a member of the City Council, directed the formation of a Community Development Protocol. It was aimed to guarantee that all human remnants exhumed in the future would be respectfully honored.
Several key officials have proposed a strategy to renovate the FABG for the benefit of the community. In October 2020, de Blasio and Eugene declared their intentions to construct affordable households, youth-based programs, and other critical facilities in the region. This is to provide quality housing at low costs to the residents and offer more opportunities for the youth to acquire essential skills for different jobs (Davis, 2021). The FABG has a deeply-rooted history of supporting education in the neighborhood. For example, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, it held Flatbush School No. 1 and Public School 90. It has also been occupied by the Yeshiva University Boys’ School and later the Beth Rivkah Institute (Schneiderman & Horn, 2021). The leaders hope that establishing youth programs in this lot may provide diverse opportunities to many young people.
To promote the housing project, the community members are supposed to complete questionnaires regarding the commemoration of FABG. They are also supposed to provide their opinions on future affordable housing development to inform the city management’s actions. Although the city officials have proposed the changes, some leaders, such as Eugene, have vowed to support the residents’ decisions. In contrast, others maintain that other locations may be more suitable for the housing plan.
The effort to enact affordable housing is headed by the Flatbush African Burial Ground Remembrance and Redevelopment Task Force (FABGRR). The FABGRR is co-chaired by Eugene and Eric Adams, the president of the Brooklyn district (King, 2021). It also comprises representatives of different groups in Flatbush, such as religious leaders, business enterprises, housing departments and the youth. This team is expected to organize seminars and continuous engagement with the residents to collect data on how to respectfully honor the FABG’s history and benefit the community. The task force is expected to meet monthly to discuss the way forward for housing development. All contributions and recommendations for the collaboration should be incorporated in the Request For Proposals (RFP) to be issued to the residents by the Housing Preservation Department (HPD). The project team collaborates with different agencies and sectors to support the efforts of the FABGRR. It is also aimed to guarantee that the opinions of the community members are included in the housing development’s RFP process (Flatbush African Burial Ground Taskforce, 2021a). The team includes the HPD and the New York Landmarks Preservation Council.
The Historical Perspectives Inc (HPI) has significantly contributed to the archeological activities in the FABG. It has completed four distinct documentary studies of the PS 90 site from 1998 to 2019. In addition, in 2019, the HPI created an Unanticipated Discoveries Plan and a Community Engagement Plan to ensure the respectful handling of human remnants found in the burial location in the future. It has also initiated descendant research to identify whether the remains discovered in 2001 match any members of the Flatbush community (Flatbush African Burial Ground Taskforce, 2021b). Therefore, the expertise and skills of the HPI may considerably help the community in more excavations and in identifying any descendant links among the residents.
Some activists and community members have greatly opposed building affordable homes at the FABG. Groups such as #Justice1654 and the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition (FABGC) have engaged in various campaigns to sensitize the residents on the need to preserve the site. These groups believe that the burial location is sacred and the dead should be left undisturbed (Strahan, 2021). To generate support against the housing projects, the #Justice1654 usually meets at the burial lot on Wednesdays to rally and demonstrate against the city management. Alternatively, the FABGC holds walk tours every Saturday to create awareness about the history of slavery in the region. However, despite the united front created by these organizers to denounce the housing plan, there is no consensus on how the FABG should be honored (Davis, 2021). Some activists are backing the lot to be modified into a memorial or a museum (just like the burial site for African slaves in Manhattan). Meanwhile, others want the lot to be transformed into a community garden and honor it as a burial site for African slaves.
The FABGC was founded in June 2021 and is led by Shanna Sabio, the organizer of the GrowthhouseNYC. It is a movement comprising both individuals and organizations. A White-led community group started the move to oppose the housing project. Nonetheless, when Sabio joined the movement, she encouraged the inclusion of more African-Americans, resulting in the formation of the coalition (Davis, 2021). The FABGC hosts walk tours in the Flatbush neighborhood to promote public education about the history of slavery in Brooklyn. They are also calling for the commemoration of the burial site and believe it could create tourism and cultural vitality. The coalition has also initiated a petition to obstruct the housing project. Reports indicate that the petition has already surpassed 2,000 signatures (Edwards, 2021). Several leaders, including council woman-elect for District 40, Rita Joseph, have signed the petition disapproving the housing program. Joseph has also expressed her support for remodeling the burial location into an urban farm, which she believes would enhance the environment while honoring the African-Americans interred at the site.
The FABGC, in collaboration with community-based activist groups, hosted the Juneteenth celebration at the FABG site. Juneteenth is a holiday marked on the 19th of June every year to commemorate the abolishment of slavery in the United States. The coalition and other supporters created various arts at the burial site, including a plague for Eve and Phyllis, who are believed to be interred in the lot (GrowhouseNYC, 2021). They also hung planters of local herbs and weaved a fence using a passage from Assata Shakur’s poem named “Leftovers-What is Left?” The passage uses the words “Truth is my Compass” from the poem, emphasizing that people should always stand for the truth despite any predicaments (Ramsey, 2015). Among the symbols on the Flatbush burial ground’s gate is the Sankofa, which translates to “retrieve.” It is also common in other African Burial Grounds in the city. The FABGC has dubbed the FABG as “Eve’s Garden” and proposes remodeling it into a monument of remembrance.
In conclusion, the FABG has been established as a graveyard for former slaves of African descent. For several centuries, the burial place remained hidden due to poor records. However, archeological efforts have contributed to discovering remains of people believed to have once lived in the area. In recent years, this burial ground has attracted a lot of debate following Mayor de Blasio’s proposal to construct affordable households and youth programs on the lot. Several leaders have shown their support for the project and believe it would considerably improve the housing conditions for most residents.
Consequently, a task force team was created to generate community-based proposals on how to commemorate the burial lot while providing quality accommodation, youth programs, and other facilities to the residents. Nevertheless, some activists have emerged and formed groups, such as the FABGC, to oppose the idea of transforming the burial ground into housing projects. These movements believe the cemetery is sacred and should be remodeled into a memorial of remembrance. The groups emphasize that only the people with ancestral ties have the mandate to determine its future instead of the city management.
References
Davis, T.S. (2021). As NYC officials eye an enslaved African burial ground for real estate, community organizers demand preservation. Prism Reports. Web.
Edwards, C. (2021). Fight to protect Flatbush African burial ground gains momentum at Borough hall rally. BK Reader. Web.
Flatbush African Burial Ground Task Force. (2021a). The project. Web.
Flatbush African Burial Ground Task Force. (2021b). Site history overview. Web.
GrowhouseNYC. (2021). Juneteenth online and at the African burial ground in Flatbush. Web.
King, N.A. (2021). Flatbush locals celebrated Juneteenth with art to raise awareness of African burial grounds. Brown Stoner. Web.
Ramsey, J.G. (2015). Assata taught me poetry (part 2). Red Wedge. Web.
Rao, S. (2021). Community members urge NYC to preserve African burial grounds. Natural Resources Defense Council. Web.
Schneiderman, F. & Horn, J. A. (2021). Archaeological topic intensive study to identify the descendant community for the 2286 Church Avenue site. Flatbush African Burial Ground Task Force. Web.
Strahan, T. (2021). Positively Black: Mission to save African burial ground in Brooklyn. NBC New York. Web.