HEAR YE! HEAR YE!  

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) acting chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that the African Burying Ground Memorial Park is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Following a successful round of grant applications, the African Burying Ground Memorial Park is approved to receive $20,000 to support the creation of the memorial on Chestnut Street  in downtown Portsmouth.

 
The African Burying Ground in Portsmouth NH was in use as early as 1705, but later built over, paved over and forgotten. The burying ground was re-discovered in October 2003 and a formal committee of citizens and City representatives was created soon after to explore and implement ideas for an appropriate commemoration of the site. The plan is to create an African Burying Ground Memorial Park, We Stand in Honor of Those Forgotten, on Chestnut Street. The African Burying Ground site in Portsmouth is the only archaeologically-authenticated African Burying Ground in New England. The similarly authenticated burying ground in lower Manhattan is now a National Park.   

Acting NEA Chairman Shigekawa said, "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts." 
 
“The African Burying Ground Memorial Park is a community effort to stand and remember those whom history had forgotten for a time,” said Vernis Jackson, chair of the African Burying Ground Committee currently raising funds for the creation of the Memorial, We Stand In Honor of Those Forgotten. “As the National Endowment for the Arts has recognized, The Portsmouth African Burying Ground has national significance and this NEA grant helps us move closer to building the Memorial and to raising awareness and support for its creation beyond our community and its commitment.”
 
In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit. "The NEA grant underscores the worthiness of our project from their arts and initiative perspective," said Jackson.
  
To learn more about the African Burying Ground, to make a donation or to get involved in the creation of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park – We Stand in Honor of Those Forgotten, visit www.africanburyinggroundnh.org.