Racists deface African Burial Ground monument in Lower Manhattan
The African Burial Ground Monument was discovered in 1991 during construction of an office building.
Racists defaced the African Burial Ground Monument in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, scrawling, “‘Kill’, followed by the slur, on a plaque at the monument,” writes The New York Times.
The plaque marks the spot where as many as 15,000 Africans, both enslaved and free, were buried between 1690 and 1794, The Times notes.
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In black marker, vandals scrawled racial epithets at the site, which is located in close proximity to City Hall. No sooner had the graffiti been scrubbed when the city learned of another incident of hate when “Kill All Jews” and other anti-Semitic slurs were discovered written inside a Brooklyn synagogue.
Authorities said they do not have any suspects at this time.
The incidents came less than a week after a gunman opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue last Saturday, killing 11 and wounding six.
“Each day is getting worse,” Hazel N. Dukes, the president of the New York State conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told The New York Times.
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The African Burial Ground Monument was discovered in 1991 during construction of an office building. The skeletal remains serve as a reminder that New York City’s colonial African-American community was not allowed to be buried in cemeteries at that time, according to the Times. During the Revolutionary War, New York City had the second-largest number of enslaved Africans in the nation, according to Complex.
The site was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1993, and the memorial—which depicts the Atlantic Ocean and the continents that took part in the slave trade – was dedicated in 2007.
Hate crimes are increasing across America. According to a report (pdf) from California University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, these crimes have increased in major American cities over the past two years.
