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Brooklyn Public Library holds ground acknowledgment ceremony at East New York African burial ground ahead of new $40 million branch

The Brooklyn Public Library, Gilbane Building Company and the East New York African Burial Ground Collective held a ground acknowledgment ceremony at 655 New Lots Avenue on October 29, honoring ancestors buried at the site before construction begins on a new $40 million branch set for completion by 2028.

Two images: a rendering of the planned New Lots Library, a round building wrapped in a woven, basket-like wooden screen on New Lots Avenue at sunset; top left, an elder in a patterned robe pouring water into a potted plant beside a seated drummer in a rust-colored outfit, in front of library shelves.
A water ritual at New Lots Library during Brooklyn Public Library's December 2024 design unveiling (BPL video still); a rendering of the planned branch. Image: Brooklyn Public Library (video still). Rendering: MASS Design Group and Marble Fairbanks Architects, courtesy Brooklyn Public Library. Composite by Bushwick Daily

Brooklyn Public Library holds ground acknowledgment ceremony at East New York African burial ground ahead of new $40 million branch

The Brooklyn Public Library, Gilbane Building Company and the East New York African Burial Ground Collective held a ground acknowledgment ceremony at 655 New Lots Avenue on October 29, honoring ancestors buried at the site before construction begins on a new $40 million branch set for completion by 2028.

Brooklyn Public Library holds ground acknowledgment ceremony at East New York African burial ground ahead of new $40 million branch
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The Brooklyn Public Library, Gilbane Building Company and the East New York African Burial Ground Collective held a ground acknowledgment ceremony Thursday, October 29, at the site of the New Lots Library at 655 New Lots Avenue in East New York, honoring the free and enslaved Africans buried in the East New York African burial ground before construction begins on a new branch, Brooklyn Paper reported.

Instead of a traditional groundbreaking with shovels, hard hats and safety vests, guests took part in a series of rituals, Brooklyn Paper reported. The gathering opened with sound bowls, sacred…

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