Portsmouth Mayor Jack Blalock and Vernis Jackson prepare to place flowers at the African Burying Ground on Monday. (Roger Wood photo)
Roger Wood photo
Valerie Cunningham, left, founder of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, is pictured talking with a woman at Monday’s ceremony.
Dozens of area residents gathered around the African Burying Ground memorial in downtown Portsmouth on Monday. They were there to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the project’s completion last spring.
Roger Wood joined them InDepth, his podcast underwritten and sponsored by Northeast Delta Dental. Vernis Jackson, a Portsmouth resident was one of the prime movers behind the park, which is sandwiched between houses and a bank driveway on Chestnut Street.
Mayor Jack Blalock hosted the short ceremony. Royleen Edwards is a retired teacher from Portsmouth. She told the crowd that she has mixed emotions. Her husband Kelvin was an original member of the Burying Ground Committee, which led to the establishment of the memorial park. In 2003, the remains of 13 people that were scientifically determined to be African Americans from colonial times were recovered beneath the street, which is now occupied by the park.
They were re-interred at the same location. Some experts believe that there are others, either free citizens or slaves of area residents, who may be buried in the same general location. According to a press release from the city, the memorial park has been widely visited and embraced by the community and visitors from nearby and other countries. For InDepthNH.org, I’m Roger Wood