Enslaved African Memorial
“Members of the community were excited to learn about this discovery and had a desire to learn more and offer support to our ongoing efforts to tell the story of slavery in New Jersey.”
Enslaved African Memorial Committee gives presence to the stories of the enslaved Africans who helped build the infrastructure of what is now one of the richest but was once one of the largest slave-holding counties in New Jersey: Bergen County. This project focused on a nineteenth-century African community in Paramus called Dunkerhook that was founded by two formerly enslaved individuals who rented the homes of their former enslaver upon their emancipation. EAMC’s work during Community History included continued archaeological excavation of the site in partnership with Montclair State University and work on a documentary film that will tell the story of Dunkerhook to illuminate another piece of the often overlooked history of slavery in New Jersey.
