In the auditorium of Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture last month, about 100 people gathered to view five competing designs for the memorial to be constructed atop the African Burial Ground at Duane and Elk streets.

		It was clear from the outset that most had already made up their minds. "Nothing, but absolutely nothing, will be built on that ground," proclaimed Ollie Mclean, a member of the Descendants of the Afrikan Ancestral Burial Ground Committee, who spoke out after delivering the opening spiritual reading. "Our cemetery is sacred." And so it went for much of the afternoon. Each of the five proposed designs was presented amid heavy sighs and occasional shouts from the audience. "Let's try to refrain from personal attacks on the design teams," interjected moderator George MacDonald, a representative of the General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees the grounds with the National Park Service.
While a majority of those who spoke were against building on the burial ground, there was support for creating a memorial. Some people suggested that it be floated above the site, built nearby or located uptown. "Leave it like it is, then bring it to Harlem and tell it like it is," said one man in the audience. The GSA and the National Park Service sought public input on the designs in a series of forums last month, one in each borough. In a process reminiscent of the design competition for the memorial at the World Trade Center site, the finalists are expected to revise and further develop their designs for final consideration by the GSA in September. The winner is scheduled to be announced in October. The five design proposals are: o A descending path between a shallow pool and a wall featuring the faces of African Americans in bas-relief, designed by Eustace Pilgrim and Christopher Davies. o A shell-shaped chamber leading to a sunken area designed to serve as a libation court for wine offerings and other ceremonies, by Rodney Leon Architects. o Two illuminated panels serving as a doorway to underground burial vaults, by Katherine Dean of Groundworks. o An 18-foot-tall copper pyramid near the memorial entrance and landscaped grounds inside composed of crushed oyster shells and junipers, with a wall featuring a mosaic mural by artist Willie Birch. Designed by Joseph DePace Architects. o A walkway leading past a sound installation of screams, extending over a pool with outstretched arms representing drowning slaves, and descending finally to a waterfall, by Cheryl McKissack of McKissack & McKissack. Renderings of the designs can be seen at www.africanburialground.com. During a question and answer session following the presentations, one critic asked the designers, "Were you told that we in the community did not want anything on that ground?" The designers emphasized that the actual graveyard is 30 feet below ground level and would not be disturbed by construction. "All of Lower Manhattan was built on our graveyard with our sweat and blood," said architect Rodney Leon. "Our intention was to mark this as a sacred place. People in Lower Manhattan should no longer be able to walk past it without knowing the importance of the spot and the contribution that African Americans made to New York City." Last October, the remains of 419 colonial-era African Americans, discovered in 1991 during the excavation of the federal office building at 290 Broadway, were ceremonially re-interred at the burial ground site.