Thank you to every donor who helped make the Portsmouth African Burying Ground a reality.

WOFORO DUA PA A

“when you climb a good tree” – support, cooperation

$100,000

City of PortsmouthEversource

WAWA ABA“seed of the wawa tree” – hardiness,

toughness, perseverance$50,000-$99,999

Thomas W. Haas Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation

New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP)

Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund

NKONSONKONSON“chain links” – unity, human relations

$25,000-49,999

George and Susan CarlisleGeoffrey E. Clark and Martha Fuller

Clark Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation

John and Skye MaherJanet Prince and Peter BerghTD Charitable Foundation

MPATAPO“know of reconciliation” –

peacemaking, reconciliation$10,000-24,999

Altus Engineering Charitable Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation

Robert and Patricia BakerThe Jack and Dorothy Byrne

FoundationTracey and Frank ClarksonCogswell Benevolent Trust

Joan Dwyer and Jayne Dwyer Charitable Fund of the NH Charitable

FoundationM. Christine Dwyer and Michael

HuxtableJameson and Priscilla French

Ellen and Jim LabrieJosephine A. Lamprey Fund of the NH

Charitable FoundationDana and Shaula Levenson

Sean MahoneyThe Angela Matthews Family and the Springer Fund of the NH Charitable

FoundationJay McSharry

National Endowment for the ArtsThe 1772 Foundation

Portsmouth NH Hilton Garden InnLisa and Dan Schwarz

Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel and North End Portsmouth

Nike and David SpeltzCyrus B. III and Barbara K. Sweet

Winthrop Charitable Gift Fund

AKOMA NTOSO “linked hearts” – understanding,

agreement$2,500-9,999

AnonymousAnonymous-Fidelity Charitable

FoundationAnonymous-NH Charitable FoundationAlgene Bailey, Sr. and Mary J. Bailey

MJ Ellis BlanchetteCentrix Bank

D.F. Richard EnergyDeer Street Associates, LPAttorney Charles B. Doleac

Pamela Diamantis and Morey Goodman

The Fabulous Find, Kittery-A Caring Community

Abbie and Chris HackettJohn Hancock Life Insurance Company

Hesed FoundationDavid Hills and Catherine

McLaughlin-HillsVernis M. and Emerald C. Jackson

Cheryl Lee and John GilbertLiberty Mutual Insurance Company

Long Term Care Partners, LLCIn Memory of Emese Somssich Mocsy

Maxine K. MorseJeffrey and Karen Mountjoy

David and Kathleen Rushford Murray Charitable Fund of the NH Charitable

FoundationPax World Management, LLC

Peoples United Bank

Piscataqua Savings BankRenee and Daniel L. Plummer

Joseph and Angela PontPortsmouth Democrats

Peter Peirce RiceRotary Club of Portsmouth

David and Eleonore SandersonJoseph G. and Jean E. Sawtelle Fund of

the NH Charitable FoundationStephanie Seacord

The Sedoric FamilySomma Studios

South Church, A Unitarian Universalist Congregation

The Spearman FamilySt. John’s Episcopal Church

Rosamond Thaxter FoundationThoresen and Werner Families Fund of

the NH Charitable FoundationJonathan and Susan Paige Trace

The West African symbols used here , known as Adinkra are ubiquitous in Ghana, a West African country which is also home to one of Portsmouth’s

Sister Cities, Accra. The symbols are incorporated in the Portsmouth

African Burying Ground.

DONOR ($1,000-$2,499)John L. AhlgrenDave and Catherine AndersonBank of New HampshireStephen and Karin BarndollarJeff and Molly BolsterCummings, Lamont & McNameeDTC LawyersCharles A. DeGrandpreAllessandra M. DominaMary Ann and Tim DriscollAileen Dugan and Frank NappoBill and Mil DuncanKelvin and Royaline EdwardsThe Fuller FoundationSally and Alan GayerGranite BankJ. Verne Wood Funeral HomeJane JamesMichael and Jamee KaneMike and Patty KennedyMara KhavariKrasker Fund for Arts and Humanities of the NH Charitable FoundationJohn and Lelia Lamson Fund of the NH Charitable FoundationDonna and Stuart LevensonTom Lewis Restoration and ConsultingMary Ann ListKimberly and David MeuseCraig and Sharon MusselmanNew Hope Baptist ChurchThe National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of NHNeal and Darlene OuellettePopovers on the SquarePaul and Lyn PudloskiChris and Alison Pyott

Mary and John RauhJames and Susan RichmondThe Shaheen FamilyJennifer and Rob StevensSun Life FinancialJohn and Elizabeth TaborDavid Taylor and George FrieseTemple Israel PortsmouthBob and Sue ThoresenJohn M. TiniosKatherine Williams Kane, The Maestro FundRoger and Marylee Worboys

DONOR ($500-$999)AnonymousAnonymousThe John Bickford FoundationJude BlakeBob’s Clam Hut Tips AccountBosen and Springer, PLLCJohn and Irene BushJames and Gail CarolanRobert and Briana CarriggJack and Diane ChambersAlex B. ChoquetteSharon ChurchillMark ConnollyLawrence C. Drake Jr. and Joan JacobsLewis M. FeldsteinSteven FowleJohn P. GreggNathan B. and Sharon D. HarrisHoefle, Phoenix, Gormley & Roberts, PAP. Darcy HorganThe Hotel PortsmouthSimeon P. Jarvis

SATURDAY, MAY 23 -- COMMUNITY CELEBRATION

Musical Welcome, Portsmouth Music and Arts Center Jazz Ensemble

Master of Ceremonies, Reverend Robert H. ThompsonPhelps Minister of Phillips Church, Phillips Exeter Academy

Invocation, Reverend Arthur L. Hilson, New Hope Baptist Church

Welcome, City of Portsmouth Mayor Robert J. Lister

Poem, Beneath the Surface of Life by Royaline B. Edwards

Proclamation from New Hampshire Governor Maggie HassanRead by State Senator Martha Fuller Clark

Greetings from Shirley McKinney, Superintendent of the African Burying Ground National Monument in New York City

The Portsmouth Singers, Directed by Kevin Siegfried

African Burying Ground AddressRev. Lauren Smith, South Church, A Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Vernis M. Jackson, Chair, Acknowledgement of African Burying Ground Committee Members and Volunteers

Councilor M. Christine Dwyer, Public Art & Portsmouth

Jerome Meadows, African Burying Ground Artist and Sculptor

The Blind Boys of Alabama

Closing Prayer, Reverend Robert H. Thompson

Refreshments and Celebration with TJ Wheeler & Friends Thanks to Grill 28 & Popovers on the Square

SATURDAY, MAY 23 -- REBURIAL CEREMONY

8:30 am Pallbearers, caisson and Chief Oscar Mokeme arrive at top of Chestnut Street at State Street. Jerome Meadows, Meadowlark Studios sculptor of Portsmouth

African Burying Ground artworks opens event, presenting the artwork as he removes artwork veils.

9:00 a.m. Entrance of officiant, Chief Mokeme, followed by the pallbearers carrying caskets. Caskets are placed in the burial vault as Chief Mokeme performs

Consecration Ritual and final Reburial Rites

9:45 a.m. Readers present stanzas of Jerome Meadows’ poem,

We Stand In Honor of Those Forgotten, incorporated in the memorial, as they stand with the sculptural community figures.

Sidney Davis, Reading MA Steve Fowle, Portsmouth NH Kirby Randolph, Kansas City MO Bob Greene, Portland ME

Peter Lamb, Kittery Point ME Kenneth Tilley, Jr., Portsmouth NH Skye Maher, Portsmouth NH Sheila Findlay, New York NY

9:50 a.m. Community Song led by Rev. Lillian Buckley

10:00 a.m. Singing and Vault procession viewing. Reburial event concludes. Audience proceeds, led by drummers, to Stokel Student Commons at the Portsmouth

Middle School for Community Celebration

Oscar Mokeme is the founder and executive director for the Museum of African Culture in Portland, Maine. Born in Nigeria to Igbo parents, he apprenticed traditional Igbo

healing medicine. He is the recipient of several awards and grants, from the Maine Arts Commission, Maine Humanities Council, Maine Community Foundation, and the United

Way. In addition to preserving, interpreting, and curating the Museum’s exhibitions, Mokeme practices traditional pluralistic trans-cultural Igbo healing rituals.

Jeff LittleTim and Donna MacDonaldEdward MallonMartin and Sarah McEvoyDavid and Allyson MooreThe New Hampshire GazetteSharon NicholsNorth Church of Portsmouth, UCCNorth Church Women PortsmouthPeter T. PaulMardelle PohlmanJane PorterPortsmouth High School Black Student UnionPortsmouth Regional HospitalThe Robinson Family Fund of the NH Charitable FoundationSIS BankPeter and Kathleen Pohlman-SomssichAlison StebbinsMegan StelzerKent Stephens and Patricia LynchJohn P. Trioano and Jennifer G. Troiano, Trustees, The Carpe Diem TrustWinebaum Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation

DONOR ($250-$499)Nicholas and Lea AeschlimanGayle and Bob BlumenbergThomas P. Clairmont, MDRB and Chris ColeWallace and Barbara CooperMicum DavisSandra Dika

Richard and Catherine DiPentimaMichael and Diane DonahueRobert and Patrice DufourBetsy GardellaDr. Lawrence and Ruth S. GrayBrad and Catherine GreeleyEric GreggMary M. GriffinRobert Walsh Hickey, MD and Patricia Burke HickeyArthur L. and Florine M. HilsonMichael and Glicka Glosserman KaplanVicki KasabianMargaret Lamb and Steve JoselowDexter and Ellen LeggJames Loring Law OfficeNancy LukensCarol McCabeCharles MeadeJudy Miller and Arthur CarakatsaneJoseph Morone and Lindsay EvansJennifer and Timothy MylesMary and Jim NoucasJohn and Kelly OrnellAlice A. Passer, MD and Rabbi Barry KriegerPortsmouth Brewery Beer & Skittles Fund of the NH Charitable FoundationAnne G. RomneyWayne and Paulette SempriniJoseph Simeone and Gerry WeidemaO.L Thagard and Sharon ThagardJeffrey D. and Coralee ThomsonMonique and Dixon TurnerThomas R. Watson and Kathleen Salisbury WatsonRobin D. Willits

DONORS (UP TO $249)AnonymousAnonymousAnonymousAnonymousSteven J. and Karen Martin AdlerTim AllisonAmbit EngineeringAmerican Export a Division of American Building Supply, Inc.Stephanie AnconaBob Andelman and Kathie LynchElizabeth AndersonJames and Susan AndersonMargery D. AndrewsNancy AndrewsRichard and Susan ArnoldArtists’ Collaborative Theatre of New EnglandAdrienne BaileySusan BaldinaWalter BardenwerperRichard H. Barnhardt Jr.Petra and Christopher BarstowJudith Palmer BaumannJohn BenfordGail Berneike and Donald BernierCharles G. BickfordLaura BilbyAnthony Blenkinsop and Jessica RitzoSherry-Lea Bloodworth BotopJohn P. Bohenko and Nancy K. LondonThomas F. and Barbara A. BolkoKaren BouffardChristopher and Cynthia BrownHaley BrownWilliam R. Buckley Jr. and Rebecca GouldPaul D. Carey III and Tina S. CareyLaurie L. ChandlerJohn and Carol Clark

Nancy Novelline ClayburghEileen ConlonBrett and Lynne CostaLewis and Connee CountsLesley S. CurtisPatrick J. Daley and Beverly A. JamesMichael and Elizabeth DaterChristine A. DavidsonRichard and Peg DavisSusan DenenbergBarbara DeStefanoRalph and Linda DiBernardoDeborah DiFrancoGene and Bernard DohertyAnne G. DonaldsonDovetailed KitchensRose DownesMary C. DoyleRussell DoyleGail DrobnykPenelope and Michael DrookerLeila B. DuttonAnne G. EarlyPamela EiffeJacqueline EllisFrances S. ElsemoreWilliam E. ElwellManuel and Patricia EncarnacoRose EppardMark EpplyLance and Mary Donaldson-EvansValerie FaginJay FeeneyJeffrey R. and Cindy G. FeenstraBurt FeintuchE.H. FieldRobert B. and Elizabeth H. Field, Jr. Charitable FundEllen Fineberg and Vincent LombardiHarriet Fishman on behalf of H. Fishman Meditation

12:00 Midnight ServiceWelcome & Overview • Morey Goodman

Scripture Reading & Prayer of Acceptance • Rev. Jeffrey McllwainMusical Selection, Right Now Choir, North Star AME Zion Church

Trouble In My Way, Every Praise Is to Our God, The Lord Will Make A Way

Honoring Those Who Were Treated Unjustly • Rev. Jeffrey McllwainDrums of the Ancestors • Randy Armstrong

Hearing from the Ancestors • Frederick TaylorSoprano Solo • Marketo Christine Michel with Janice Brown on Violin

Midnight Beams of Heaven & Soon A Will Be DoneHearing from the Ancestors • Sandi Clark

Community Hymn Sing with Right Now Choir North Star AME Zion# 500 Walk With Me, #494 Wade in the Water,

#476 Soon & Very SoonPrayer of Remembrance • Pastor Chris DunawayHomage Recessional • Janice Brown on Violin

Community Tribute after Midnight ServiceViolinist Janice Brown, Accordionist Bill TrentlyHearing from the Ancestors © Kathleen Wheeler.

Saturday, May 23 6:00 a.m. Sunrise Service

Welcome & Overview • George CarlisleScripture & Prayer for the Rediscovered • Rev. Lillian Buckley

Solo • Rev. Lillian BuckleyThis May be The Last Time

Hearing from the Ancestors • Aurora JonesIn Honor of Those Taken from Loved Ones • Rev Lillian Buckley

Community Hymn Sing with Royaline Edwards on Piano#505 Steal Away, # 476 Soon and Very Soon,

#463 I’ll be Singing up ThereHearing from the Ancestors • Kevin Wade Mitchell

Solo • Olga TinesThe Lord is Good & Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Sending Away Prayer • Rev. Dawn ShippeeCasket Processional with Descendant Community Pallbearers

FRIDAY, MAY 22 -- ANCESTRAL VIGIL

7:00 p.m. Sunset ServiceWelcome & Overview • JerriAnne Boggis

Scripture Reading & Prayer for the Departed • Rev. Arthur L. HilsonMusical Selection with Voices of New Hope Choir

I Won’t Go Back & Lily in the ValleyHearing from the Ancestors • Dennis Britton

Praise Dance, We Must PraiseTatiana Reyes & Sabastian Reyes

Honoring Those Who Made The Middle Passage • Rev. Arthur L. Hilson

Soprano Solo • Marketo Christine Michel with Geri Young on PianoYou May Bury Me in Des Eas’ &

Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless ChildHearing from the Ancestors • Jasmine Reyes & Braxton Holloway

Community Hymn Sing with Voices of New Hope Choir#498 Swing Low Sweet Chariot, #505 Steal Away,

#511 This Little Light of MinePrayer of Remembrance • Minister Celestyne Brag

Homage Recessional • Carmen Buford-Paige on Piano

Community Tribute after Sunset ServiceMusical Interlude by T. J. Wheeler

Carmen Bufiord-Paige on Piano; Poetry Reading by Tammi Traux; Baha’i Readings by Lurenza McGhee & Mara Khavari;

Heather Lord, Musical Tribute

Dorothy FitzpatrickBenjamin Fowler and Sarah HaskellJoanne C. FrancisMichael Frandzel and Judith Silver Barbara FranzosoConnie FreiermuthWendy FroshJoan GagalisLucretia H. Ganley, Robert V. Ganley and Edward A. GanelyManuel and Donna GargantaMaryLiz GeffertRichard and Jo GoeseltRenee C. GoinsHelen and Raymond GoodmanAlan R. and Pamela GordonJoseph W. GordonKerry Siobhan GormelyJoan Goshgarian and Van McLeodMildred GradyCornelia C. GrayRussell B., Sr. and Barbara J. GrazierGreat East FestivalBarbara GreggJoy and Donald HagstromLois HarmonKatherine Harris and David ThutWilliam Harris and Terry Kay RockefellerBeth and Michael HartnettDan HartreyJohn R. Haskell and Lorrie EastwickElaina HatsisPhyllis HeilbronnerBarbara HenryEmi HigashiymaLaurinda HillLucius T. and Nancy M. HillJeffrey HillierDorothy and Ira HoffmanCourtney and Jennifer Holloway

Greg and Ann HopkinsRichard Horan and Linda MonicaMary C. Horrigan Revocable TrustGlendowlyn HowardIndependent Archaeological Consulting, Inc.InkroomKaren S. JacksonPriscilla JennessKen and Jean JonesStuart KahlSue KaplanTom KaufholdK.C. Realty TrustJerry Kelly and Maryellen HurleyPaul KentBarbara KirkhamGlen A. KnoblockMary KoepenickGregory Andrew LaCameraFrances Lampert, Lampert Family TrustCharles and Susan LassenMartin A. Lee and Nancy J. LambertRobert LegrosRobin Albert LehmanElizabeth A. Levey-PruynAllen and Adina LindenCynthia and Robert J. ListerBrad Lown and Chris SieveThomas and Kimberly LyngTerry and Peg MacDonaldSusan Good MacWilliamClaude and Joan MarchessaultVincent and Linda MarconiPhilip MarcusCarolyn B. McCombeMaryse S. McConnellThomas McCormack and Rebecca VarnerDeborah McDermottNancy S. McDonoughShaye McGann and John M. Robbins

John and Diane O’Leary McGeeDonna MelilloRobin Lurie-MeyerkopfJudith MeyersJudith Brown Meyers and Michael Meyers, Meyers Charitable Family FundMargaret (Peg) Ann MillarJohn and Susan MitchellStephen and Helen MooreDaniel MorrisonWilliam D. MortimerRuth MottDaniel and Amy MulkernKris MullenRyan and Elizabeth MurphyThe Nash Panella FamilyMark and Laureen NasonDebbie NeedlemanNew Castle Church GuildSarah R. NewickAllen and Terie NorelliRobert and Stephanie NugentGeraldine PalmerMilton and Dixie PappasSharon PeatfieldArianna PesarikNicholas PesarikRobert E. and Charlotte PhilbrookGregory E. and Carmen PollackRobert and Nancy PollardPortsmouth Black Heritage TrailPortsmouth High School, Mr. Sam Tombarelli’s Sophomore ClassPortsmouth High School Students, presented to George CarlislePortsmouth High School Dr. Hilson, Ms. Parsons and Ms. Young, American Studies I ClassPortsmouth Republican City CommitteeRick and Terry PoulinDenise Poulos

Paula Pressler and Estelle IsraelRyan and Erin ProulxQ Chauffeured Services LTDPeter RandallRichardson’s RealtyNH State Representative Robin ReedMarybeth B. ReisCarole H. RenselaerJohn and Joan RiceJonathan and Phyllis RingTheodore and Christine RistainoRodney and Lee RobertsTed and Mary RobbinsBrian RogersDale Rollins and Edward J. ValenaClara RossMarva RossEmma L. RousMark SammonsGail H. SandersKenneth and Judith SantarelliCatherine SasanovDiane Schaefer and Mitch ShuldmanSiobhan SenierN. Paul and Carole ScheipisIra SchwartzMaureen SempriniMonique Shevlin, Signature TitleDawn ShippeeBruce and Susan ShumwayKaren SiegristSignature Escrow & Title ServicesRichard SilvermanElizabeth and Richard SimpsonCarolyn SingerThomas SlaterAileen Abrams SniderMargaret SofioLincoln and Kathleen SoldatiSoutheastern Retired Educators Association

PARTICIPANTS IN THE REBURIAL CEREMONYAfrican philosophy from one culture to another knows the spirit of the deceased is still with the living community, and that there are distinctions among the various spirits, as there are distinctions among the living. A respected elder who passes on becomes a respected ancestor and is given the highest honor. Although their names have been lost, our “descendant community” honors these ancestors today and we welcome their spirits as an extension of our “descendant community.”

Pallbearers: Robert Bellinger, Lexington MA

Charles Clark, Enfield NHWesley Davis, Portsmouth NH

Otis Douce, Durham NHSylvester Dye, Portsmouth NHKelvin Edwards, Kittery MEBob Greene, Portland ME

Richard Haynes, Portsmouth NH Irving Heughan, Portsmouth NH

Braxton Holloway, Portsmouth NHWilliam Humphrey, Dover NH

Willard Johnson, Newton Center MA Harvey Keye, Nashua NH

Ryan Lawrence, Durham NHWoullard Lett, Manchester NH

Keondray Lucas, Portsmouth NHKeith Mascoll, Boston MAGabriel May, Boston MA

Sean McGhee, Strafford NHDaniel Minter, Portland ME

Bradley Randolph, Portsmouth NHPurnell Fred Ross, Dover NHFrancisco Santana, Dover NH

Bob Sheppard, Kittery MEJohn Yen, Manchester NH

THURSDAY, MAY 21 -- ART-SPEAK PUBLIC ART FORUM Public Art & Portsmouth, A Community Forum Series on Public Art, featuring Jerome B. Meadows and sponsored by Art-Speak, City of Portsmouth Cultural

Commission at 3SArtspace, 319 Vaughan Street. A conversation with the Savannah GA sculptor whose work for the Portsmouth African Burying Ground was awarded a 2013 National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant for “The

creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence.”

PORTSMOUTH AFRICAN BURYING GROUND REBURIAL PREPARATIONS

African American funerals today generally tend to be life-affirming, with a celebratory air intermingled with the sorrow, a blending of traditional African customs with ever-evolving American social practices. Such rituals often help to define and to maintain the cultural heritage of Black Americans in uncertain and turbulent times. Women of the community traditionally prepare the body of deceased family members for burial. In the absence of bodies, the human remains of individuals along with surviving pieces of their original wood coffins that were exhumed in 2003 from the Chestnut Street section of the African Burying Ground were prepared by the Women Elders for reburial. They have lined the nine newly-crafted caskets with 18th century tree shavings, connecting the present to the past, and wrapped the remains in symbolic white cloth and red ribbons. On this sacred reburial day, these Women Elders are gratefully recognized for being keepers of our cultural legacy:

JerriAnne Cleary Boggis, Milford NHJewel Lanier Buckley, Kittery ME

Valerie Cunningham, Portsmouth NHRoyaline Edwards, Kittery ME

Sheila Reed Findlay, New York CityFlorine Hilson, Portsmouth NH

Vernis M. Jackson, Portsmouth NHSharon Jones Jenkins, Portsmouth NH

Beatrice Satchell Goodwin, Northwood NHMarie Metoyer, Manchester NH

Jill Minot-Seabrook, Dover NH Jesse Mitchell, Portsmouth NH

Carmen Buford Paige, Dover NHGeraldine Cousins Palmer, Portsmouth NH

Bertha J. Perkins, Bedford NHElizabeth Pettiford, Dover NH

C. Freddye Ross, Dover NH Irene Ramsay Towland, Reading MA

Leavy Ann White, Portsmouth NHAssisting the Women Elders:

Rev. Dr. Lillian BuckleyDr. Kathleen Wheeler & Ellen Marlatt, Independent Archeology Consulting

Janet and David SplaineMike and Laurie SteinbergBrad StevensGretchen StewartJennifer and Robert StiefelStiletto ShoesDiane StradlingSarah Kruger SullowayWilliam and Eileen SutherlandLisa and David SweetThomas and Corinne SzopaDonna Lyn TamaroffWes TatorSamuel TombarelliJohn and Arlene TommasiniSusan TreleavenDonna and Bill Truslow, Truslow Resource Consulting, LLCBarbara M. TsairisJudy UllmanUNH Counseling Center StaffSusan S. and James S. VarnKerry Ann VautrotJeremy R. WaldronJoan Waldron Family TrustWilson F. and Andrea B. WalkerRichard and Jean WalshBarbara McLean and Gerald W.R. WardDavid Watters and Janice AlbergheneBrian WazlawKaren WendellRobert WilkinsonSuzette A. WilsonDavid and Margaret WithamMarie WithamDavid WolowitzWomen’s City ClubHon. William Zeliff, JrKathleen and Ronald ZollaSusan Zuckert

The Portsmouth African Burying Ground Committee and Volunteers deeply appreciate each and every donor who has supported this project.This list of donors was complete as of May 3, 2015. If you notice any omissions or misspellings we apologize and encourage you to contact us immediately at 610-7232 so we can make the correction.

---------------

I stand for the Ancestors Here and BeyondI stand for those who feel anger

I stand for those who were treated unjustlyI stand for those

who were taken from their loved onesI stand for those

who suffered the middle passageI stand for those

who survived upon these shoresI stand for those

who pay homage to this groundI stand for those

who find dignity in these bones-- Jerome Meadows

---------------

Just when might the earth be fair,its people glad and free?Which of the explainers

would you want to ask? Not me . . .-- from “Turn toward” by

Portsmouth Poet Laureate Robert Dunn (1943-2008)

The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on the African Burying Ground

Vernis M. Jackson, Chair Mary J. Bailey, Vice ChairValerie Cunningham Kelvin Edwards

M. Christine Dwyer, City Councilor Deputy City Attorney Suzanne Woodland, Ex-Officio

Public Works Director Peter Rice, Ex-Officio

would like to recognize and thank the following:

Fundraising Volunteers Honorary Co-Chairs Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich & Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Vernis Jackson Susan CarlisleGeorge Carlisle Tracey Clarkson

M. Christine Dwyer Morey GoodmanRev. Arthur L. Hilson Jane JamesJanet Prince Stephanie Seacord

Nike Speltz Peter Weeks

City of Portsmouth Mayor Robert J. Lister Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine

Councilor Stefany Shaheen Councilor Esther KennedyCouncilor Brad Lown Councilor M. Christine Dwyer

Councilor Zelita Morgan Councilor Eric SpearCouncilor Jack Thorsen City Manager John P. Bohenko

Deputy City Manager David S. AllenAssistant City Manager for Special Projects/

Community Development Director David S. MooreAdministrative Assistant Terry Poulin

Members of the City Staff at Portsmouth City HallRetired Deputy City Manager Cindy Hayden

Retired Public Works Director Steve Parkinson

The Design and Construction Team Jerome B. Meadows, Meadowlark Studios

Roberta Woodburn, Woodburn & Company Landscape ArchitecturePiscataqua Landscaping & Tree Service

Full Circle Stone Works CMA Engineers, Inc.Independent Archaeological Consulting State Archaeologist Richard Boisvert

Jeffrey Cooper, Wood SculptorPortsmouth Middle School Art Students and Art Department

WEDNESDAY MAY 20 -- SPECIAL EVENTS

9:00 a.m. On-site event with artist and sculptor Jerome Meadows and Portsmouth Middle School Students

Portsmouth Middle School students who worked with Mr. Meadows during a school outreach project in October 2014 join him on-site to reveal the ceramic tiles they designed that are now installed in the decorative railing at the site. This event coincides with a Middle School Art Show of student works about the African Burying Ground at the Seacoast African American Cultural Center Gallery at 10 Middle Street (in the Discover Portsmouth Center).

Introduction & thank you to students, Vernis Jackson, Chair, African Burying Ground Committee

Welcome, Mayor Robert J. Lister, City of PortsmouthRemarks by Artist and Sculptor Jerome B. Meadows

Remarks by Anna Nuttall Visual Arts Teacher, Portsmouth Middle School

After the on-site event the students walk to the Seacoast African American Cultural Center to view the special exhibit of their artwork in the SAACC

Gallery.

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Special Exhibition of the 1779 Portsmouth Emancipation Petition from the New Hampshire State Archives, at the Seacoast African American Cultural Center

In 2013, New Hampshire made international news when the state legislature voted unanimously to accept a 1779 petition signed by 20 enslaved Africans in the households of Portsmouth that had been tabled when first presented to the colonial court. The Portsmouth African Burying Ground memorial quotes phrases from that petition to give voice to what may be 200 people – all unnamed – who are buried beneath Chestnut Street and the surrounding block. Some of the men who signed the petition may be among those buried in the old cemetery. State Archivist Brian Burford accompanies the document.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS MAY 20-23, 2015

Wednesday, May 20th 9:00 a.m. On-site event with artist and sculptor Jerome Meadows, Portsmouth Middle School students and the community for artist discussion and to view

tiles students designed for the decorative railing.

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Special Exhibition of 1779 Portsmouth Emancipation Petition from the New Hampshire State Archives, at the Seacoast African American Cultural Center,

10 Middle Street

Thursday, May 21st6:30 p.m. Art-Speak Public Art & Portsmouth, A Community Forum Series on Public Art, featuring Jerome B. Meadows and sponsored by Art-Speak, City of

Portsmouth Cultural Commission at 3SArtspace, 319 Vaughan Street

Friday, May 22nd 7:00 p.m. African Burying Ground Ancestral Vigil at New Hope Baptist

Church. Services at 7 p.m., midnight and 6 a.m. with members of the community participating throughout the night

Saturday, May 23rd 6:00 a.m. Ancestral Vigil Sunrise Service

8:30 a.m. Arrival of the remains by horse-drawn caisson at Chestnut & State Streets. Unveiling of artwork on-site and Reburial Ceremony at

African Burying Ground

10:30 a.m. Community Celebration at Stokel Student Commons at the Portsmouth Middle School

1:30 p.m. On-site walk-about with project artist and construction team

5:00 p.m. Preparation for Burial Vault lid placement

7:00 p.m. The Blind Boys of Alabama at The Music Hall. A concert in recognition and celebration of the Portsmouth African Burying Ground

Special Events Partners TD Bank, through the TD Charitable Foundation

J. Verne Wood Funeral Home Farrell Funeral HomeCharmingfare Farm New Hope Baptist Church

The Men and Women of the City of Portsmouth School, Public Works, Police, Fire &

Municipal DepartmentsSeacoast African American Cultural Center

Portsmouth Music and Arts CenterState Street Church JerriAnne Boggis

Portsmouth Historical Society Portsmouth Black Heritage TrailJeffrey Cooper, Wood Sculptor Brown & Company

Seacoast Media Group Independent Archaeological Consulting LLCPortsmouth Middle School Portsmouth Middle School Art Dept

Anna Nuttal, Visual Arts TeacherInfinite Imaging Peter Lamb

Chief Oscar Mokeme David J. Murray, ClearEyePhoto.com John Benford, John Benford Photography

Roger Goun Photography Crystal Paradis, PhotographerPeter AC Newbury, Photographer Richard Haynes, Photographer

Nevin Brown, Photographer Atlantic Media Productions - Nancy and Brian Vawter

Phineas Graphics Leading EdgeLynne Crocker, Fine Repair & Restoration Bookbinding

Strawbery Banke Museum Moffatt-Ladd House & Gardens Popovers on the Square Grill 28

Portwalk Partners St. John’s Church Youth GroupNew Hampshire Secretary of State, William M. GardnerNew Hampshire State Archives, Brian Burford, Archivist

The Music Hall, An American Treasure for the ArtsArt-Speak, City of Portsmouth Cultural Commission

Winter Holben Design 3S ArtspaceSenator Martha Fuller Clark Thomas R. Watson, Esq.

Martingale Wharf Altus EngineeringMegan Stelzer Design

African Burying Ground Project Abutters

On an October morning in 2003, an infrastructure project on Chestnut Street uncovered fragments of what turned out to be 18th century coffins in the heart of the Portsmouth’s downtown. Subsequent forensic archaeology and DNA analysis under the watchful eyes of state archaeologists and the African descendant community confirmed the site was the previosly-known segregated burying place for Africans and their descendants (likely both enslaved and free), where as many as 200 individuals may be buried. Their names are unknown and their resting place - in use from the early 1700s through to the 19th century - was paved over, built over and mostly forgotten as Portsmouth expanded from the waterfront. Only one other DNA-verified site in New England –the African Burying Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan– is of comparable age and history.

Starting in 2004, the Mayoral-appointed African Burying Ground Committee worked with the Mayor and City Council, community forums, and the Chestnut Street abutters to create the plan that now returns the rediscovered site to sacred ground. In order to acknowledge this history and make it accessible, understood and experienced by residents and visitors, the Portsmouth community has chosen to close this public street and transform the downtown city block into a public place of reverence, reflection and learning. The original works of outdoor public art created for this park connect this site to the African continent and people, call to mind the skilled labor of enslaved and free Africans who built Portsmouth and its coastal economy, and honor all of the people buried here.

The African Burying Ground Committee, Honorary Co-chairs of the fund-raising campaign Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and a group of dedicated volunteers raised $1.2 million to realize the vision by collecting more than 600 donations ranging from $5 to $100,000.

To learn more about the Portsmouth African Burying Ground, please visit www.africanburyinggroundnh.org

May 20-23, 2015

The Portsmouth,New Hampshire

African Burying Ground

VIGIL

REBURIAL

CELEBRATION

Please join us as we

stand