We all know, or should know, that several slave owners signed the Declaration Of Independence in 1776. The document that proclaimed that all men were created equal.
What is less known, especially in New England, is that not all of those slave owners were Southern plantation owners. At least one slave owner, New Hampshire’s William Whipple, was a Northern merchant.
One of Whipple’s slaves was Prince Whipple, who accompanied him to Philadelphia to attend the Continental Congress that created the Declaration of Independence; which Whipple signed. Prince Whipple, among other slaves, petitioned the New Hampshire Legislature for their freedom in November 1779. The petition was denied. William did free Prince in 1784.
Portsmouth was a thriving seaport in colonial and early America. It was the state’s first capital and most important city. The city had a small population of freed and enslaved Blacks. During the late 1700s and early 1800s an African Burying Ground existed on the outskirts of town, in the area of what is now Chestnut Street near The Music Hall.
Eventually the Burying Ground was neglected. Eventually, as the city grew, the Burying Ground itself was buried; lost to new buildings and paved over as Chestnut Street. The Burying Ground was lost to history.
Until workers digging under Chestnut Street in 2003 discovered the remains of 13 individuals.
A nearly decade effort to raise funds and design a memorial culminated with the reconsecration of the burying ground, the reburial of the 13 bodies, and the dedication of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park.
The night of May 23rd, my wife and I were treated to a rocking evening performance at the Music Hall by the Blind Boys of Alabama. The performance capped a weekend of ritual and celebration rededicating the African Burying Ground and opening the Africa Burying Ground Memorial.
The Memorial — which allows residents of Chestnut Street car access to their driveways — has several components.
The Entry Piece - On State Street symbolizes the African slaves reaching back to Mother Africa. The fingertips do not quite touch, symbolizing the permanent loss and disconnection from Africa the slaves suffered.
Male Figure Of The Entry Piece Symbolizing African Slaves
Mother Africa Reaching For Her Lost Children
The Petition Line — The 1779 petition for freedom is quoted on a ribbon of brick wending from the Entry Piece to the Grave Vault. The Line is adorned with the African symbol, Nsoromma, meaning “Child of the Heavens”.
“Natives of Africa forcibly detained...” The Petition For Freedom, signed by 20 Portsmouth slaves in 1779, forms the Petition Line at the Buryin Ground Memorial Park.
Burial Vault Lid -- The African figure, Sankofa, meaning “Return and Get It -- Learn from the Past” forms the Burial Vault Lid. The Vault contains the remains of those exhumed in 2003, and additional partial remains found at the site during preparations for the memorial. The remains were buried in handmade wooden coffins. The Vault was reconsecrated in a West African ceremony.
Burial Vault containing the remains of the 13 individuals, and partial remains of others, discovered beneath Chestnut Street in 2003.
Community Figures — Bronze silhouettes representing the community coming together to honor those buried here; then forgotten and paved over. Each figure bears a line from a poem written by memorial sculptor Jerome Meadows.
Community Figures representing a community coming together to remember.
Community figures up close. The writing is from a poem by the park sculptor, Jerome Meadows.
The African Burying Ground Memorial Park is a stark and somber reminder that slavery was not a “Southern problem”. It was endemic in most parts of colonial and early America. While New England men marched off to fight for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, the New Hampshire Legislature voted to explicitly deny those rights to 20 “natives of Africa forcibly detained….”.
Cultural racism then allowed the African Burying Ground to vanish into the mists of history. Homes were built over the graves, or paved over to create a city street. Only a fluke rediscovery of the remains by workers digging up the street brought this sacred place back. The park is a nice, quiet place; providing a contrast to the hubbub of restsurants, bars, boutiques, and tourist attractions nearby.
In this year of racial trauma, murders, and harrassment, the Burying Ground has become a place to contemplate what we in white America have done, and still do, to our black brothers. It reminds us in the North that we were not immune to the inhumanity of slavery, even as we fought to show that all men are created equal.
If you ever get the chance to visit this part of the Seacoast, take the time to visit this sacred place.
I leave you with a few more photos of this place.
Looking down the Memorial from State Street.
View from the Burial Vault towards State Street. This was, and still is, Chestnut Street. Now unpaved, residents still access their driveways using the street.
There are several articles on the Memorial at www.seacoastonline. Unfortunately they are behind a paywall. For more information on the Memorial, including a video of the reconsecration ceremony, visit africanburyinggroundnh.org/…
Thank you.
