African Burying Ground Memorial (We Stand in Honor of Those Forgotten) (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
Dublin Core
Title
Subject
Subject (Topic)
African Americans--New Hampshire--History
Cemeteries--New Hampshire
New Hampshire--History
Northeastern United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Description
The memorial is composed of a number of distinct elements. A rectangular granite stele on State Street marks the memorial’s entrance. On one side, below the engraved text that reads “African Burying Ground Memorial,” a life-size bronze figure of a man stands with his back against the stone stele. His left-hand reaches out and back, towards the other side of the stele. On the opposite side, a life-size bronze figure of a woman mirrors the gesture of her male counterpart. The sculptor, Jerome Meadows, leaves a gap between the outstretched hands of the two figures.
On the opposite end of the memorial, a group of eight life-size vertical bronze and concrete silhouettes, each inscribed with a line from a poem written by Meadows, stand in a semi-circle around the burial vault. The figural group is surrounded by a metal railing, embellished with ceramic tiles. The design of the 110 ceramic tiles is inspired by Kinte cloth patterns and based on the original drawings created in a workshop Meadows facilitated with students from a local middle school. The burial vault contains the re-interred remains of the 13 individuals found on the site in 2003. The vault is marked with a Sankofa, a West African Adinkra symbol that means “Return and Get It — Learn from the Past.”
The sculptural groups are connected by the “Petition Line,” a ribbon of pinks stone, which contrasts with the gray stone walkway of the memorial. The Petition Line contains excerpts from a formal document submitted to the New Hampshire legislature in 1779 by 20 enslaved individuals petitioning for their freedom. To the right is an information marker that provides visitors with the historical context for the memorial, as well as the poem by Meadows - I Stand For Those Forgotten.