News Release

New Exhibition "400 Years"

The view from inside the "Door of No Return" on Goree Island, Senegal

National Archives and Records Administration

News Release Date: August 22, 2019

Contact: Rebecca Karcher, [phone]

ATLANTA — August 25, 2019 marks the 400^th anniversary of the first landing of enslaved Africans to Point Comfort in the English colony of Virginia –this site is now part of Fort Monroe National Monument. To commemorate this historic event the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park is collaborating with the African-American Panoramic Experience (Apex) Museum to remember the 400^th Anniversary.  The park will host a teaser exhibition titled “400 Years” which features a depiction of the “Door of No Return”, located in Senegal on Goree Island. This exhibition will provides a symbolic encounter for visitors to experience the horrific ordeal faced by many Africans as they jwere forcibly removed from their native land. 

The exhibition, featured in the park's visitor center atrium, will open on Sunday, August 25, 2019 and will run through February 28, 2020. Visitors can view an in-depth exhibition on the history of slavery by visiting the APEX Museum located at 135 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30312 or on the web at www.apexmuseum.org.

Superintendent Judy Forte states, "The Martin Luther King, Jr. NHP is excited to partner with the APEX Museum to remember this solemn occasion. Dr. King's struggles and triumphs are connected to the moment the first enslaved people arrived in what would become the United States. It is important to reflect upon our nation's past in order to build a stronger nation for generations to come."  

Other Commemorative events schedule include:

•  At 3:00 p.m. EST. on August 25, 2019, bells will ring simultaneously across the country. The bells will ring for four minutes, one minute marking each century. The  National Park Service invites everyone to join “Healing Day Bell Ringing Ceremony marking the 400^th year to the day of the first landing of enslaved Africans in English North America. 
• Facilitated dialogue: "The Fear and Threats Against Racial Survival-hood". This discussion will take place at the park's visitor center on September 8, 2019 at 3:00 PM.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Nattional Historic Park daily operations are Monday through Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and the APEX Museum (www.apexmuseum.org) operates Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

This NPS event is FREE to the public. For more information, please visit www.nps.gov/malu and follow Facebook MartinLutherKingJrNPS.