Joseph Rodman Drake Park & Enslaved African Burial Ground

NYC PARKS FURTHER HONORS ENSLAVED AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND WITH FOUR NEW PARK SIGNS IN JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE PARK

NYC Parks today completed the installation of four new park signs at Joseph Rodman Drake Park in the Bronx to further honor the enslaved African burial ground within the park. The new signs now include the words “Enslaved African Burial Ground,” in addition to the park name.

“Thanks to input and support from the community, I am proud to have added these new park signs to Drake Park as we continue to show our commitment to honoring the history of our parkland here in the Bronx,” said NYC Parks Bronx Borough Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. “It is my hope that these new signs, which further honors the enslaved Africans buried in the park, will spur reflection, remembrance, and a pursuit for greater knowledge and understanding for all who visit the park in the future.”

According to the 1800 federal census, 44 enslaved Africans lived on the Hunts Point peninsula, with the last burial in the Slave Burial Ground reportedly occurring in the 1840s. The Slave Burial Ground was graded away and covered with dirt, gravel or asphalt sometime in the early years of the 20th century, succumbing to roadway construction and development prior to the park’s establishment. In 2013, a local history education project conducted with school children at nearby P.S. 48 unearthed much of this forgotten historical chapter.

As the surrounding Hunts Point neighborhood has grown predominantly industrial, the park has provided an oasis with venerable trees; its pastoral beauty and historic graveyard an enduring connection to the origins of the Bronx. The Enslaved African Burial Ground is also honored within the park on the park’s historical sign.