HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

The businesses of greater Portsmouth continue to step forward in support of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park envisioned for the Chestnut Street site where 18^th century African remains were rediscovered in October 2003. Starting October 7, 2011, the anniversary of that rediscovery, several local realtors will begin donating $100 from each of their sales commissions to the African Burying Ground Trust Fund that supports the creation of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park. The donations are being pledged for a year through October 7, 2012. (Continued below)

After learning more about the African Burying Ground at a house party hosted by Olde Port Properties’ George Carlisle, realtor Sandy Domina picked up on an idea. The concept originated with Jane James at Marple & James, who had secured donations from the owners of property on Chestnut Street, site of the burial set aside in the 1700s for black, enslaved, and impoverished Portsmouth residents.

SEE PHOTOS of African memorial plan

The site of the former “Negro Burying Ground” was somehow “lost” to history as the city expanded, and streets and structures were built within the grounds of the old cemetery. Although it was known to historians and labeled on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, the graveyard was only “rediscovered” in 2003 when workmen widened a trench to add a cistern at the corner of Chestnet and Court streets and discovered 13 wooden coffins. As many as 200 burials are estimated to be in the site. The remains were removed, studied, and repatriated. Local citizens headed by historian Valerie Cunningham spearheaded a movement to turn a portion of the area into a sacred place with a memorial. Nearly a decade later, fundraising is underway for a memorial to be placed on the site.

Borrowing an idea from James, Domina has enlisted several of her colleagues among the network of seacoast realtors to support the memorial effort. Each realtor in the growing network has pledged to donate $100 for each sale of real estate they close. Interested realtors should contact Sandy Domina at 603-766-0424, Ext.13.

“This idea lets us give something tangible back to the City and the history that draws us all together as a community,” said Ms. Domina “This commitment also says that as Portsmouth continues to grow, we are committed to ensuring that the treasures of our history are never forgotten again. As we talk to people about moving their families and businesses here it is clear that the City’s past is almost as important to them as its future.”

The African Burying Ground Memorial Park stands in honor of those forgotten when the cemetery, marked on old 18^thcentury maps, was paved over, built over and overlooked as Portsmouth grew in later years.

When the State Archaeologist removed some of remains for examination in 2003, DNA testing identified eight individuals of African descent. This careful treatment and the painstaking laboratory analysis make this the only archaeologically verified African Burying Ground of its era in all of New England, and give it national significance. Only one other site in the US – in lower Manhattan – is of comparable age, size and historical importance.

In 2004, the late Mayor Evelyn Sirrell created the African Burying Ground Committee to decide how the City should respond to the site. After hosting public forums and meetings with the Chestnut Street abutters, the Committee recommended a plan that the Mayor and City Council subsequently approved. That plan calls for the creation of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park, designed by sculptor and artist Jerome Meadows and local landscape architect Roberta Woodburn, that is intended to connect the people of Portsmouth today with those buried here long ago. The design includes sculpted figures, a community plaza with landscaping, pedestrian lighting, granite seating walls and a fence inlaid with art tiles made by Portsmouth schoolchildren, information about Portsmouth’s black history and a burial vault for the reinterred remains.

The African Burying Ground Committee is supported by the Seacoast African American Cultural Center, Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Art-Speak, the Portsmouth Historical Society and growing numbers of local businesses and individuals who are making contributions for the creation of the park.

“The realization of our plan to create the African Burying Ground Memorial Park depends on the support of people like Sandy Domina and many others who have put their business and personal resources into the effort,” said Committee chairman, Vernis Jackson.

“We thank the Realtors who will be making these commission donations and welcome others with creative ideas to support our formal fund-raising plan.” For more information about the African Burying Ground Memorial Park and the community fund-raising effort, visit www.africanburyinggroundnh.org