HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) -- Gospel music, black history, and delicious carrot cake - a perfect combination for a wonderful celebration at Harlem’s oldest church.
It was also a chance for those in attendance to learn so much about the Elmendorf Reformed Church and its mission to create a memorial and educational center for its nearby African burial ground.
Vy Higginson’s Sing Harlem Choir started off the festivities at Elmendorf Reformed Church on East 121st Street has to offer.
The church was founded in 1660 and is the oldest church in Harlem.
“Every year we assemble a group of community leaders to learn more about the history of this church and to join in celebrating each other and our community,” Diana Ayala, the deputy speaker of the New York City Council, told PIX11 News.
Elmendorf Reformed Church is also the home church of the Harlem African Burial Ground.
Through research into its records, the church has identified more than 40 names of those buried in the grounds. The burial grounds are located on East 126th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues at the site of a decommissioned bus depot on city-owned land.
The hope is to build a memorial and education center.
“The burial ground was essentially as old as Harlem itself,” Saradine Pierre, senior project manager of the Economic Development Corporation, told PIX11 News. “It was segregated. The European settlers were eventually relocated, but the Africans were left behind,” she added.
After the event inside the church, there was cake for all to enjoy at a basement reception, three varieties from Lloyd’s Carrot Cake.
So many people were celebrating so much.
“We are very happy to be here,” Belinda Perry-Sessoms, a church deacon, told PIX11 News. She happily added that she has been a member of this church for fifty.
“I’m proud to be an African American male,” Louis Earl Sessoms, a church elder and Belinda’s husband, told PIX11 News. “ I thank God for the opportunity to be part of this great church. It is a blessing that he has bestowed upon me.,” he added.
The next step in the process of creating a memorial and education center is an archeological dig at the site of the African burial ground and then RFPs or requests for proposals will be sent out:
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