Nonprofit reclaims cemetery for people who were enslaved

KINGSTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An upstate New York nonprofit is reclaiming a centuries-old cemetery for people who were enslaved and helping honor those buried there. The Pine Street African Burial Ground in Kingston, originally established in 1750, was lost to time.

Advocates from the group Harambee Kingston have purchased the residential property built on top of the old cemetery, and they are raising money to turn the urban backyard into a respectful resting place.

"I don't like when people feel upset or forgotten. And that is what's happened here," SUNY New Paltz anthropology student Maddy Thomas said. "So we've got to fix it."

"I ask that people pay attention to this, and please do not just brush it off your shoulders and think that, 'Oh, it's just something in the past,'" Tyrone Wilson with Harambee Kingston said.

So far, the remains of 27 people have been uncovered. While their names may be lost, researchers are planning to test their DNA to shed light on their lives and identify their descendants.