New York Cemetery for Enslaved People Reclaimed [Video]

A centuries-old cemetery in Kingston, New York, once forgotten and buried beneath urban development, is being reclaimed as a site of historical significance.

The graveyard, now known as the Pine Street African Burial Ground, served as a resting place for enslaved African Americans from the mid-18th century through the late 19th century.

Today, a committed community effort is working to restore dignity to those interred there and to preserve the memory of their lives.

Located on a quiet residential block, this cemetery was uncovered after years of being obscured by modern expansion.

In the 1750s, it was part of the town’s outskirts, a place where enslaved people, denied the right to be buried in church cemeteries, were laid to rest.

Pine Street continued to be used until around 1878, decades after New York fully abolished slavery.

However, as the city expanded, the cemetery was gradually forgotten, and by the late 19th century, …