[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 16, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2146-E2147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING THE GROUNDBREAKING WORK OF THE SCHOMBURG CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 16, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the article, 
``Heritage Watch: Breaking the Silence,'' written by Howard Dodson and 
published in Africana Heritage in its Vol. 7, No. 4 periodical. It 
details the Schomburg Center's efforts--through innovative exhibition 
and persistent advocacy--to render a history of slavery that grants its 
subjects active agency. More than mere objects of exploitation, 
oppression, and victimization, the enslaved population crafted a rich 
history, wielding the powers of critical thinking and self-
actualization to transform language, religion, family, and culture.
  The center boasts of its unprecedented ``Lest We Forget: The Triumph 
Over Slavery'' exhibition, the first of its kind focused exclusively on 
the topic of slavery. Showcasing an exhaustive 300 items, travelling 
versions of the presentation have made their way to 16 countries across 
the Atlantic and back. Its other ambitious production, ``In Motion: The 
African-American Migration Experience,'' follows the major migrations 
of Africa-descendant people.
  It led the charge for historic preservation of an African burial 
ground discovered in the recesses of Manhattan, a cemetery to 20,000 
Africans from colonial New York. Already both a city and national 
landmark, a segment of the burial ground was named a national landmark 
in early 2006. In 2008, the Schomburg will take center stage in 
commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the 
transatlantic slave trade.
  A cherished institution nestled in the heart of my district, the 
Schomburg Center serves an oft-unsung--but necessary--purpose. It 
strives to keep slavery and the slave trade a fundamental thread in the 
fabric of this country's heritage, so that the contributions of the 
enslaved will never fade from the American consciousness.

                  Heritage Watch: Breaking the Silence

       Prior to the 1960s, the basis of much of the scholarship 
     and the perspectives on slavery available derived from the 
     abolitionist literature and campaign of the 1830s to the 
     1860s. This body of literature was written or collected to 
     document the horrors of slavery. Its purpose was to show how 
     slavery oppressed, exploited, and victimized the enslaved 
     African population--hence the victim's perspective. A closer, 
     more critical reading of many of the same sources, especially 
     the slave narratives, revealed a much more complex set of 
     relations in slavery and an equally more diverse and complex 
     enslaved African population.
       Over the next four decades, the scholarship on slavery and 
     the slave trade shifted from the dominant victim's 
     perspective to a more nuanced one in which the enslaved 
     African population became the subjects--active agents in the 
     making of their own history rather than mere victims of 
     oppressive, exploitative, all powerful slavery systems. The 
     results of this approach and the scholarship it produced have 
     been stunning and quite revelatory--becoming the foundation 
     of the Schomburg Center's action strategy to remember 
     America's slavery past and hopefully prevent its ever being 
     forgotten again.
       Seven years ago, the Schomburg Center celebrated its 75th 
     Anniversary and unveiled an exhibition on the slave trade and 
     slavery. Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery became the 
     first major exhibition on the subject in the United States. 
     Comprised of more than 300 objects, Lest We Forget documented 
     the origin and development of the slave trade from Africa to 
     the Americas. Reflecting the new scholarship, however, it 
     went a step further. It explored the ways in which 
     critically-thinking, self-actualizing enslaved Africans 
     transformed themselves into new people in the midst of 
     slavery. The new languages, religions, families, and cultures 
     they created were documented and celebrated as well as the 
     forms of resistance and struggle they fashioned.
       In conjunction with National Geographic Press, the Center 
     published a companion book to the exhibition entitled 
     Jubilee. An online exhibition was also created on the 
     Schomburg's Web site. Early in 2004, the Center entered into 
     an agreement with UNESCO to expand the site and make it one 
     of the centerpieces of the Year to Commemorate the Struggle 
     Against Slavery and its Abolition. In its expanded form, the 
     site added more content about slavery and abolition in Latin 
     America and the Caribbean. Lest We Forget, the online 
     exhibition, is now available in four languages. The Center 
     also collaborated with UNESCO to create traveling versions of 
     the original Lest We Forget exhibition. A total of six 
     bilingual exhibitions in 32 framed color panels have been 
     created for distribution throughout the Atlantic World. To 
     date, bilingual versions have appeared in Cameroon, South 
     Africa, Cape Verde, Senegal, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, The 
     Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Brazil, 
     Ecuador, Sweden, France, Finland, and Norway. While on tour, 
     it has served as a catalyst for a variety of educational and 
     cultural programs interpreting and/or commemorating the 
     struggle against slavery and its abolition.
       In February 2005 another exhibition, In Motion: The 
     African-American Migration Experience, focused on documenting 
     the major migrations of people of African descent to, within, 
     and outside of the United States. A remarkable online 
     version, www.inmotionaame.org. includes over 8,000 images and 
     over 16,000 pages of text--narratives, scholarly essays, 
     primary source documents, and curriculum modules. National 
     Geographic Press published a companion book and the Center 
     produced a Black History Month Kit for dissemination to 
     teachers. A traveling version of In Motion opened for a 
     limited time during Black History Month 2006 at Miami's Lyric 
     Theatre. Since the rediscovery of the African Burial Ground 
     in lower Manhattan during construction on a federal office 
     building in 1991, the Schomburg Center has been involved in 
     its historic preservation and interpretation. A Federal 
     Steering Committee, headed by Schomburg Chief Howard Dodson, 
     drafted a report to the United States Congress outlining the 
     ways in which the burial ground should be memorialized. 
     Following the report's recommendations, Howard University's 
     W. Montague Cobb Laboratory conducted scientific study of the 
     419 remains that were excavated. The African Burial Ground 
     has been designated as both a City and National Landmark and 
     in February 2006, President Bush proclaimed the portion 
     located at Duane and Elk Streets a National Monument. The 
     full five-acre site is believed to be the final resting place 
     of over 20,000 Africans from colonial New York.
       The 419 excavated ancestral remains were reinterred at the 
     African Burial Ground Memorial site on October 4,2003. As 
     part of the reinterment ceremonies, the Schomburg Center 
     organized a series of commemorative programs in five cities 
     over a three-day period, ending with a vigil, tributes, and 
     special programming in New York City. Since then, annual 
     tributes to the ancestors have taken place, including a Ring 
     Shout ceremony with New York City schoolchildren circling the 
     original burial ground site. The Ring Shout has grown every 
     year--reaching 3,000 participants last year.
       In April 2005, the U.S. General Services Administration and 
     the National Park Service selected Rodney Leon, of AARRIS 
     Architects, to design the African Burial Ground Memorial. A 
     dedication ceremony as well as celebratory events will take 
     place the weekend of October 5, 2007. The Office of Public 
     Education and Interpretation, located in the lobby of the 
     federal building at 290 Broadway, continues to provide site 
     tours of the commemorative artwork and memorial site, 
     documentary film presentations, and programs for educators. A 
     link documenting the African Burial Ground and the 
     commemorative tribute programs is available on the Schomburg 
     Center's homepage. Keeping with the goal to make New York's 
     African Burial

[[Page E2147]]

     Ground a major heritage tourism destination, the African 
     Burial Ground Monument Foundation was founded by Edward 
     Lewis, Chairman and Founder of Essence Communications, Inc.; 
     Dr. James Forbes, former Senior Minister of Riverside Church; 
     and Howard Dodson, Schomburg Chief. The Foundation aims to 
     raise funds and generate global outreach for the African 
     Burial Ground National Monument.
       October's Dedication Ceremony will be the Foundation's 
     first task. A second slavery-related project undertaken by 
     the Schomburg Center focused on a New York State legislative 
     initiative, which established a New York State Freedom Trail 
     Commission to document and interpret the state's Underground 
     Railroad history. The Schomburg Center was contracted to 
     research and write the Commission's background document 
     and action agenda. Historic sites, personalities, and 
     events related to slavery in New York have been documented 
     and selected historic properties are being restored. A 
     historic marker program is being planned to identify 
     significant Freedom Trail sites, events, and personalities 
     throughout the state, the ultimate goal of which is to 
     organize educational programs and heritage tourism 
     activities throughout the state. The Center has also 
     drafted a Freedom Trail Curriculum which has been mandated 
     to be incorporated into the State's K-12 curriculum. This 
     year, Great Britain marked its Bicentennial of the 
     Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade with a series 
     of events and in 2008 the United States will recall its 
     own.
       To coincide with these two important milestones, the United 
     Nations organized a special month long exhibition of Lest We 
     Forget in March 2007, to observe the International Day for 
     the Commemoration of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave 
     Trade; and the Amistad America's Freedom Schooner Amistad 
     began its yearlong Atlantic Freedom Tour sojourn in June 
     retracing the slave route. As part of its continuous 
     involvement and interpretation of slavery, the Schomburg 
     Center is a member of the planning committee for the 2008 
     U.S. commemoration. The Schomburg Center has continued to 
     build its collections of primary and secondary source 
     materials on slavery, the slave trade, and the African 
     Diaspora. Slavery-related topics have been a regular part of 
     the Center's annual program agenda.
       Finally, the Center and these initiatives have been 
     catalysts for additional programs by other organizations. 
     Americans in general and African Americans in particular are 
     still wary of remembering slavery and the slave trade as a 
     fundamental part of America's national heritage. But the 
     contributions of those who were enslaved to building this 
     country should not be forgotten. The educational content of 
     the initiatives described herein have contributed in 
     meaningful ways to opening dialogues on these subjects. While 
     there is still a lot of work to be done, the strategies for 
     action described herein have worked and are working to break 
     the silence.

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