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The first phase of the African Cemetery Memorial Project began last week with officials from Monroe County, Key West, and the African Memorial Committee attending a commencement ceremony. The African Cemetery Memorial Project will commemorate 295 Africans thought to be buried in Key West. The memorial site is located at Higgs Beach between the West Martello Towers and White Street Pier Aids Memorial. In 1860, in efforts to eradicate the illegal slave trade, the US Navy captured three slave ships bound for Cuba and brought them to Key West. Records show that 295 Africans died in Key West and were buried in unmarked graves along the southern shore of the island. The remains of the Africans en route to
the slave market were discovered using ground–penetrating radar (GPR) in 2002.
Monroe County is utilizing $25,000 appropriated through DAC1 / TDC for this project, and will perform the structural work in house. The project is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2007. |
