New from Teaching with Historic Places: African Burial Ground National Monument Lesson

The Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation & Education in Washington, DC, published a new Lighting Lesson plan about the African diaspora, human spirituality, and archeology in June 2017: Discover the African Burial Ground National Monument: A Lightning Lesson from Teaching with Historic Places.

The lesson plan features the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City's Lower Manhattan.

In the Teaching with Historic Places lesson, students analyze a map of colonial New York before “digging” into experiences of enslaved people in the city and investigating the role archeology in the historic cemetery's rediscovery. Students will examine evidence of how Africans and African Americans honored the deceased at the site over the centuries.

With this information, students develop theories about the influence of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the African diaspora, and how cultural traditions give meaning to life and death.