Civil Rights And Architecture: the Fight to Save Buildings and the African American Stories They Tell

There are some breathtaking properties not far from New York City that you’ve surely heard of, or perhaps visited, like the John D. Rockefeller mansion in Mount Pleasant, NY and the John Jacob Astor estate further up the Hudson River in Rhinebeck.

The buildings spark conversation about the storied titans of industry, including their wealth and philanthropic contributions to America.

What I didn’t know is that Harriet Tubman’s house is also in upstate New York.

Of course, I had studied about the abolitionist in elementary school, learning that she orchestrated the Underground Railroad, and risked her life to deliver dozens of slaves to freedom in a series of secret trips to the north.

But this week, I learned of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, NY, comprised of her house, the nearby Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, and the Thompson A.M.E. Church where she worshipped.

Likewise, these buildings serve as catalysts to discuss Tubman’s courageous actions and her relentless pursuit of freedom.

We need more historic landmarks celebrating Black America.  It’s not an opinion.

Of the nearly 95,000 entries on the National Register of Historic Places, only 2% focus on the experience of Black Americans.

Unbelievable, right?

Startling and appalling, too.

The January issue of The New Yorker details how a group called the Action Fund is fighting this disparity.  The group has raised more than $25 million in the largest-ever campaign to preserve African-American historic sites.

More recently, Architectural Digest reported that the process of designating historic places needs immediate overhauling:

“If we want to educate future generations about Black history in America, we need to work to preserve Black historic sites now.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation admits there’s a problem.

President Paul Edmondson told AD, “I think it’s undeniable that there was—like every institution within this country—structural racism, and it’s pervasive through our society.  We know that, and we can’t deny that it was clearly a part of our preservation movement in some ways.”

There is lots of work being done to correct the huge racial gap.  But improvements can’t be classified simply as reactionary; even before the murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide outrage, activists were working to save critical artifacts connected to slavery.

What I found so interesting is that the movement is not just about saving buildings, but hallowed ground as well.

The New Yorker shares details of a grassroots fight to restore an area called Shockoe Bottom, in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond used to be the second-largest slave market in the country.

Shockoe Bottom is a valley where more than 300,000 men, women, and children were sold in the 30 years before the Civil War. The article states that in 1800, 26 slaves were hanged for planning a revolt against their owners, clinging to the battle cry “Death or Liberty.”

These slaves, along with their stories, were buried beneath a parking lot until this century. Then, in 2002, protests began to reclaim Shockoe Bottom as a memorial to the slave trade.

The New Yorker reports:  “Activists demanded that the city ‘get your asphalt off our ancestors,’ and, although it took a decade, the pavement was eventually cleared. In 2013, the group helped launch another wave of protests after the city proposed building a minor-league baseball stadium at Shockoe Bottom, which would have destroyed what archeological evidence remained and would have desecrated the burial ground.”

The story is fascinating. And there’s so much more to learn.  I hope you are inspired to explore something new and eye opening, just as these articles inspired me.

5442 replies
  25. gucci womens handbags
    gucci womens handbags says:

    I quite like reading a post that can make men and women think. Also, many thanks for allowing me to comment!

    Reply
  38. ps5 accessories
    ps5 accessories says:

    This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen

    Reply
  43. kuyu temel
    kuyu temel says:

    Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!

    Reply
  75. mutfakyolu
    mutfakyolu says:

    Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!

    Reply
  76. temp mail
    temp mail says:

    Forget about spam and advertising mailings.Keep your real inbox clean and secure. 10 Minute Mail provides temporary, secure, anonymous, free, disposable email address for 10 minutes.

    Reply
  77. ip sorgulama
    ip sorgulama says:

    ip adresleri kullanıcıların kullanarak internette gezinebilmelerine imkan tanıyan ve numaralardan meydana gelen , internet servis sağlayıcısı tarafından sağlanan bir hizmettir.İp adresinin takibi çok kolaydır.Bu yüzden VPN , proxy ve dns değiştirme gibi yöntemleri sizlere öneriyoruz.0 güvenli hale gelmeyeceksiniz ancak takiniz zorlaşacaktır.VPN hizmetleri ücretli yada ücretsiz 3. taraflar tarafından sağlandığı için güvenli sayılmazsınız ve bu hizmet ile birlikte başka sitelere giriş yaptığınız şifreler görülebilir giriş yaptığınız sitelerin bir listesi yada aktiviteleriniz başkaları tarafından görülebilir.

    Reply
  85. Rostuv
    Rostuv says:

    Your style is so unique in comparison to other folks I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark this web site.|

    Reply
  109. trend moda
    trend moda says:

    Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.

    Reply
  110. BEDAVA iNTERNET KAMPANYALARI
    BEDAVA iNTERNET KAMPANYALARI says:

    I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.

    Reply
  112. ANTALYA BOCEK iLACLAMA
    ANTALYA BOCEK iLACLAMA says:

    Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  113. vbet
    vbet says:

    This is a very good tips especially to those new to blogosphere, brief and accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read article.

    Reply
  120. Aşk Duası
    Aşk Duası says:

    I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.!!!

    Reply
  121. Apk Mod
    Apk Mod says:

    I’d have to examine with you here. Which is not one thing I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a post that may make folks think. Additionally, thanks for permitting me to comment!

    Reply
  126. Sahabet
    Sahabet says:

    Sahabet bahis sitesi içerisinde yer alacak olan spor müsabakaları; futbol, basketbol, voleybol, hentbol, tenis, buz hokeyi ve rugby gibi branşları içerip

    Reply
  128. Mariobet
    Mariobet says:

    Mariobet, dünyanın önde gelen çevrimiçi spor bahis platformudur. 5 yılı aşkın süredir hizmet vermektedir. Mariobet, en sevdiğiniz spor etkinliklerine bahis .

    Reply
  130. bed bugs bites
    bed bugs bites says:

    This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen

    Reply
  132. Sultanahmet hotel
    Sultanahmet hotel says:

    Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.

    Reply
  147. Apk Download
    Apk Download says:

    Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.

    Reply
  150. warzone unlock all skins
    warzone unlock all skins says:

    I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.

    Reply
  155. Sevgi Duası
    Sevgi Duası says:

    It is rare to discover a specialist in whom you might have some faith. In the world these days, nobody genuinely cares about showing others exactly how in this issue. How fortunate I am to have now found such a wonderful website as this. It is people like you that make a genuine difference currently through the suggestions they discuss.!!

    Reply
  156. Soğutma Büyüsü
    Soğutma Büyüsü says:

    Nice blog here! Additionally your website loads up very fast! What web host are you the usage of? Can I am getting your associate link on your host? I wish my website loaded up as quickly as yours lol!!

    Reply
  157. Resme Bakarak Aşk Büyüsü
    Resme Bakarak Aşk Büyüsü says:

    The camera work heightens this loss of individuality by filming everyone from the back or side whenever there is action, so close you can’t tell who is doing what, or were in relation to other people they are doing anything with.!!!

    Reply
  158. Evlilik Duası
    Evlilik Duası says:

    Hi there, I found your blog via Google while searching for a related topic, your web site came up, it looks great. I’ve bookmarked it in my bookmarks.!!!

    Reply
  160. En Ağır Aşk Büyüsü
    En Ağır Aşk Büyüsü says:

    Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.>>>>

    Reply
  165. Evlenme Duası
    Evlenme Duası says:

    I just want to mention I am newbie to blogging and site-building and honestly liked this blog. Likely I’m likely to bookmark your website . You definitely have perfect articles. Thanks a bunch for sharing with us your blog site…..

    Reply
  181. Köpek Gibi Aşık Etme Duası
    Köpek Gibi Aşık Etme Duası says:

    Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier……!:

    Reply
  196. Bağlama Büyüsü
    Bağlama Büyüsü says:

    Thanks for another informative site. The place else may just I am getting that type of info written in such an ideal way? I’ve a project that I am just now operating on, and I’ve been at the look out for such information..!

    Reply
  220. Restbett
    Restbett says:

    Restbet giriş yapacak kullanıcıların tercih ettiği firma onaylı bir siteyiz. Öncelikle site adresinden bahsetmek gerekirsek 2015 yılında açılmış bir bahis ve

    Reply
  253. esin group
    esin group says:

    I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.

    Reply
  267. otomatik sanziman
    otomatik sanziman says:

    Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  288. ONSU
    ONSU says:

    Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply
  322. Aşık Etme Duası
    Aşık Etme Duası says:

    Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!!……

    Reply
  362. zodiac katili
    zodiac katili says:

    Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!

    Reply
  363. instagram takipci
    instagram takipci says:

    Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.

    Reply
  404. sağlık bilgileri
    sağlık bilgileri says:

    İnsan yaşamı bugüne dek türlü hastalık geçirmiş ve artık evrimleşme sonucu birçok hastalığa bağışıklık kazanmıştır. Geçmişte bu hastalıkların çoğu insan ölümlerine sebep olurken; bugün artık adaptasyon sayesinde insan bedeni kendini bu hastalıklara karşı bağışık hale getirmiştir. Sağlımıza önem vermek uzun ömürlü bir yaşamın ilk ve en önemli maddesidir. Bunun için güncel sağlık bilgileri hakkında okumalar yapmak gerekiyor. Ancak her bilginin doğruluğunun teyide muhtaç olduğu günümüz dünyasında karşılaştığımız bilgilere ihtiyatlı yaklaşmak gerekiyor. Diğer yandan insan hayatını düşünen ve etik doğrulara önem veren yayın kuruluşları da bulunmuyor değil. Bunlardan belki de en önemlisi Sağlık Ajandası diyebiliriz. Sağlık Ajandası, insan yaşamında fayda sağlayacak, insana hayatına önem veren sağlık bilgileri derleyip paylaşan bir online yayın platformudur. Bugüne kadar onlarca konuda önemli makaleler paylaşan internet sitesi, sağlık konusunda meraklı ve araştırmayı seven okurlar için kıymetli mecralardan birisi konumunda. Bilimsel veriden uzak ve doğruluğu tartışılan bilgileri paylaşmak yerine, bilimle beraber kanıtlanmış ve otoriteler tarafından onaylı içerikleri paylaşan platform, uzun yıllar yayın faaliyetlerine devam etmek istiyor.

    Reply
  411. kiralık villa
    kiralık villa says:

    I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from.

    Reply
  432. Pokerklas
    Pokerklas says:

    Pokerklas, bahis sektörünün lisanslı firmalarından birisidir. Türkiye’deki yasalar gereği yurtdışı serverlar üzerinden hizmet sunan tüm bahis platformlarının …

    Reply
  435. Mariobet
    Mariobet says:

    Mariobet oyun sitesi Avrupa merkezli bir oyun sitesidir ve Türkiye’deki hizmetlerinde engellemeler ile karşılaşmaktadır. Türkiye’de BTK tarafından Türk oyun .

    Reply