Visiting an African Burial Ground

by Tiffany Rae

“For all those who were lost

For all those who were stolen

For all those who were left behind

For all those who were not forgotten”

I recently took young people in the dance program at BAE on a field trip to the African Burial Ground Monument in New York City. I was proud to give the dancers the opportunity to learn about a part of their history that they had never been exposed to before. The energy in the group was different after the introductory video presentation, and I could tell that they were becoming more engaged and interested in the tour and its purpose.

I faced an unexpected major challenge this year: the majority of my dancers were not interested in African American History and did not know much about Black leaders like Madam CJ Walker or Nina Simone. I tried to be creative and come up with ways to make learning about Black history more fun and interactive, like creating dance videos, but I found that taking them to a physical monument in their neighborhood had a much bigger impact. This was the immersive experience that they did not know they needed.

It was a shock to me that the dancers had not been exposed too much African American history before. After all, the majority of the population that I serve as a teaching artist at BAE identifies as Black. This frustration turned into a drive for me to try to educate them and show them that African American history is American history. I made sure to approach this subject in a way that was not overwhelming for my students, and most of the time, being creative as a collective was the best way to get past these challenges.

It is disappointing, to say the least, that African American studies is not a mandatory class in our school. There is also a lack of representation of African American teachers on campus. As of today, BAE provides 4 out of the 5 Black teachers in this particular school.

Visiting the African Burial Ground Monument was a valuable experience for my students and me. One of the participants was so moved that they showed me their appreciation the next day by bringing me flowers. It was an eye-opening experience for them to learn about a part of their history that they had never been exposed to. This shared experience will propel the group forward and it gives a more defined meaning to our dance class.

The flowers were such a great reminder to me that showing a touch of appreciation goes a very long way, so to anyone reading this - thank you and know that I appreciate you! Thank you for supporting BAE and all of the work we do!