African Burial Ground National Monument week long Kwanzaa Celeberation

Dec 26, 2008 to Jan 1, 2009
Location: African Burial Ground National Monument
Latest Activity: Jan 20, 2020

Kwanzaa December 30, 2008 Celebrate Kwanzaa with the National Park Service Kwanzaa is a week long African American holiday observed from December 26 through January 1. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase, “matunda ya kwana” which means, “first fruits” in Swahili. The African Burial Ground National Monument will celebrate the fifth principle of Kwanzaa which is Nia (Purpose). Daytime Workshops: “Uncovering the Story of the African Burial Ground through Archeology” is designed to help students learn more about archeology by examining replica artifacts from the African Burial Ground. This workshop is being offered at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. A Kuba cloth workshop will be given by Vickie Frémont. She will talkto participants about the art of African cloth and give participants the opportunity to create their own piece of Kuba cloth. This workshop is being offered at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. Wilkes University professor Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr will present a writing workshop that encourages each family or participant to document recollections of family history, places, and things in their lives that have shaped who and what they are. All participants are asked to bring photographs and small important objects such as jewelry or cloth to weave into your story. These stories and memoirs will be written with the hope that participants will continue to tell their families’ stories. This workshop is being offered at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. An African dance and drumming workshop is being conducted by Khadyjah Alleyne, a native New Yorker trained in Senegal and Guinea and the only African American Master Drummer in the group Amazones, an all female drumming company. In this workshop, participants will learn about drumming rhythms and traditional African dance. This workshop will be offered at 2:30 pm. Evening Performance: Lonnie Youngblood and the Blood Brothers Band as well as Lady Cantrese and Friends will take the audience on a musical journey. This evening’s program will provide a brief glimpse into a rich musical tradition. T. Rasul Murray will read excerpts from his poem The Procession which uses the celebration of the return of the ancestral remains from Howard University in 2003 as a lens to view the lives of Africans who lived when the burial ground was in use from the 1690s until 1794. The evening performance is free, however reservations are required. This program begins at 7:00 pm. African Burial Ground National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Monument New York Plan Your Visit: African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm and closed all Federal holidays. The memorial is open 7 days a week, 9 am to 5 pm and closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The celebration will take place at the African Burial Ground National Monument, located on the first floor of the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, close to Foley Square and just north of City Hall. All workshops and performances will focus on celebrating family, community, and culture. Daytime and evening festivities are free, however space is limited and reservations are required by December 27. For more information or to RSVP: Please call (212) 637-1995 or visit us on the Web at www.nps.gov/afbg. All events are FREE!

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African Burial Ground National Monument week long Kwanzaa Celeberation

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