“RXR builds a luxury apartment on top of unmarked graves” could have easily been a headline on a Westchester paper.

About 16 months ago, I submitted a proposal to write a commemorative poem. I was a little skeptical since every other submission I applied for required the poem to go with the application. But this one was different. It was from a construction company. The task was to create a poem recognizing the history of enslaved people in New Rochelle, whose stories have not been sufficiently told.

 This poem would potentially negate any possible bad press and shed light on a past injustice. To me, it was right up my lane. It reminded me of my poem #blackspaces from #thebluescryforarevolution. And it was not just RXR asking. But the New Rochelle Historical Society, New Rochelle’s African American Advisory Committee, and other stakeholders wanted to see the poem come to fruition. (I would later learn the AAAC was not even formed when a group of concerned New Rochelle residents shared the possibility of an African Cemetery was adjacent to and possibly on the location of the luxury apartment.)

Fast forward, to last November, I got the email to write it. But the writing process wasn’t just scribbling at my desk. I had to connect deeper with the community for it to be genuine. Deep like searching through Archives and talking to people like I did to uncover my own ancestors, who had been enslaved in the Caribbean back when I was a Fulbright Scholar. 

This time, I was connected with several local historians, including Barbara Davis, Linda Tarrant-Reid, and Donna Landrine, a descendant of a previously enslaved person in New Rochelle, via Angela Farris, Co-Chair of the African American Advisory Committee. In a short amount of time, I learned a lot about the New Rochelle landscape. For one, where RXR had a building, possibly wasn’t the only unmarked grave site in New Rochelle.

Although, a study did not show RXR had indeed built upon unmarked graves. At 55 Clinton Place, New Rochelle, along the plaza between One Clinton Park and Two Clinton Park, you can find my poem “Unforget” installed. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!