[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2006)]
[Pages 356-358]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7984--Establishment of the African Burial Ground National 
Monument

February 27, 2006

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    In Lower Manhattan, at the corners of Duane and Elk Streets, lies an 
undeveloped parcel of approximately 15,000 square feet that constitutes 
a remaining portion of New York City's early African Burial Ground. The 
site is part of an approximately 7-acre National Historic Landmark 
established on April 19, 1993. From the 1690s to the 1790s, the African 
Burial Ground served as the final resting place of enslaved and free 
Africans in New York City, New York. It contains the remains of those 
interred, as well as the archeological resources and artifacts 
associated with their burials. Prior to the date of this proclamation, 
the site was administered by the General Services Administration (GSA), 
and it will be the location of a memorial, to be constructed soon 
according to a design selected on April 29, 2005, through a competition 
conducted by the GSA with the participation of the National Park Service 
(NPS) and other interested parties.
    Whereas the African Burial Ground National Monument will promote 
understanding of related resources, encourage continuing research, and 
present interpretive opportunities and programs for visitors to better 
understand and honor the culture and vital contributions of generations 
of Africans and Americans of African descent to our Nation;

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    Whereas section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 
U.S.C. 431) (the ``Antiquities Act'') authorizes the President, in his 
discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, 
historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or 
scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by 
the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and to 
reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all 
cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper 
care and management of the objects to be protected;
    Whereas it would be in the public interest to preserve the portion 
of the African Burial Ground at the corner of Duane and Elk Streets in 
New York City, and certain lands as necessary for the care and 
management of the historic and scientific objects therein, as the 
African Burial Ground National Monument;
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States 
of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of 
June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are 
hereby set apart and reserved as the African Burial Ground National 
Monument for the purpose of protecting the objects described above, all 
lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of 
the United States with the boundaries described on the accompanying land 
description, which is attached and forms a part of this proclamation. 
The Federal land and interests in land reserved consist of approximately 
15,000 square feet, which is the smallest area compatible with the 
proper care and management of the objects to be protected.
    All Federal lands and interests of lands within the boundaries of 
this monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of 
entry, location, selection, sale, or leasing or other disposition under 
the public land laws, including, but not limited to, withdrawal from 
location, entry, and patent under mining laws, and from disposition 
under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing.
    The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), acting through the NPS, 
shall administer the national monument consistent with the purposes and 
provisions of this proclamation and applicable laws and regulations 
governing management of units of the national park system. For the 
purposes of preserving, interpreting, and enhancing public understanding 
and appreciation of the national monument and its meaning to society, 
the Secretary, acting through the NPS, shall develop an interagency 
agreement with the Administrator of General Services and, within 3 years 
of the date of this proclamation, prepare a management plan for the 
national monument. The management plan shall, among other provisions, 
set forth the desired relationship of the national monument to other 
related resources, programs, and organizations in New York City and 
other locations, provide for maximum public involvement in its 
development, and identify steps to be taken to provide interpretive 
opportunities for the entirety of the National Historic Landmark and 
related sites in New York City. Further, to the extent authorized by 
law, the Secretary, acting through the NPS, shall promulgate any 
additional regulations needed for the proper care and management of the 
objects identified above.
    The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing 
rights.
    Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any existing 
withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the national 
monument shall be the dominant reservation.
    Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not to 
appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature of this monument and 
not to locate or settle upon any lands thereof.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh 
day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
thirtieth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., March 1, 
2006]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
2.

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