St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance
Afrikan History, Spirituality, Culture, Education and Consciousness
Latest News
Emancipation Day St. Eustatius 2026
St. Eustatius took a different approach this year for the annual Emancipation Day Commemoration, often referred to as July Day by the island residents. The activities focused on community engagement and educational initiatives. The goal was to reshape the understanding that freedom was granted by the colonizer on July 1, 1863, instead of acknowledging that freedom was won through resistance, rebellion, and the continued strife to freedom by a strong and resilient small island population.
Emancipation Day 2026 was organized by the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance in cooperation with the St. Eustatius Historical Foundation, the St. Eustatius Monuments Foundation, Statia Roots Festival, the Statia Cultural Heritage and Implementation Committee (SCHIC), and the Statia Tourism Foundation with funding of Statia Government and the Slavery Memorial Committee.
NEW BOOK: ‘St. Eustatius: Restoring Our Ties. The Voices of Statians Making A Difference' by Dr. Artwell Cain
Cultural anthropologist, Dr. Artwell Cain, travelled to St. Eustatius in June 2025 interviewing 20 islanders from the Afrikan community about their connection to their Ancestors, Afrikan burial grounds, cultural heritage, memory, and identity. Dr. Cain presented his book to the community in St. Eustatius on June 30, 2026.
About Us
About the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance (SE-ABG Alliance)
The SE-ABG Alliance came about as a result of the protests against the excavations on an 18th-century burial ground of enslaved Afrikans that were started by a team of international archaeologists in June 2021 in St. Eustatius (see www. change.org/LeaveOurAncestorsInPeace).
The protests were initially led by the political party Ubuntu Connected Front Caribbean. Located in St. Eustatius and with allies around the world, the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance broadened the scope of the struggle focusing on other Afrikan burial grounds in St. Eustatius such as the Godet and Congo Afrikan Burial Ground.
We strive for a community-based approach to heritage that has the potential to strengthen the position of the local population who are of Afrikan descent and, by doing so, to contribute to an engaged and more democratic society, in which there is a place for the voice of the Afrikan diaspora.
We work with allies that are experts in their field and are willing to advise us. Together we form the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance.
