Skip to content

African Burial Ground Project Explores History of Slavery on Staten Island

Yamilet Vasquez

Yamilet Vasquez is an undergraduate student at the College of Staten Island. She presented her PIT project, #African Burial Grounds Matter: Using QR Codes and Oral Histories to Support Youth Empowerment at the CUNY Research Scholars Program (CRSP) 2022 Summer Symposium in August.

I’ve been working on gaining knowledge about my community and the history of African burials, a project I will be presenting on Day 2 of the PIT-UN convening on Oct. 29. I developed this project to explore the history of slavery on Staten Island and the settlement of “free Blacks” around New York City. In my own neighborhood, a parking lot was built over a burial ground where between 100 and 1,000 slaves were laid to rest.

Working with community activists, I started collecting stories and identifying key locations of burial grounds around Staten Island and Flatbush. I decided to place QR codes at these sites to link people to a virtual memorial that will also share access to open-data sources related to the hidden history of the space. 

The goal is to recognize the people who were once buried there and share their stories with the community.

In addition to the African burial ground project, I am interested in using my UX design knowledge to help the immigrant community. I created an app for immigrants to easily access services such as education, legal services, and health care. I am also creating a podcast to continue to discuss other important issues in my community.

What does public interest technology mean to you?

Looking ahead, public interest technology (PIT) means a lot of things to me. Being in the PIT program for all three years of college has been fun and inspiring. When I first entered the College of Staten Island, I had no clue what I was going to do, but then I discovered PIT and its impact on society. It motivated me to learn more about my community and what I can do to improve it. Being able to create projects, getting involved, and making a difference is what the PIT future means to me.

Related Reading