memorial plans unveiled

It’s been slightly over five years since construction crews doing infrastructure work on Chestnut Street accidentally uncovered the remains of 13 African Americans in coffins dating back to the early 18th century. Since then, city officials have been considering ways to memorialize the location of Portsmouth’s African American Burial Ground.
The Portsmouth City Council approved final design plans for the memorial during a work session on Oct. 20. On Monday, Nov. 17, those plans will be publicly unveiled at Portsmouth Public Library.

According to David Moore, community development program manager for Portsmouth, the design is titled “We Stand in Honor of Those Forgotten.” Created by artist Jerome Meadows, of Meadowlark Studios, along with Woodburn & Company Landscape Architecture, the design includes eight sculptural components in a park on Chestnut Street, between Court and State streets. There will also be a planting bed, five trees, a cobblestone roadway and brick sidewalks. 

The plan is intended to depict the connection between Portsmouth and Africa, representing the modern city while “standing in witness to the history and past injustice” that the burial ground symbolizes, Moore said.

Jerome Meadows and Roberta Woodburn, of Woodburn & Company, will present the design in the library’s Levenson Room at 7 p.m. Moore said the presentation would include a mock-up of the site layout with models of the individual sculptural components. A project fundraising discussion will follow the presentation.

“We do not have cost estimates yet, but they are going to be developed soon,” Moore said. “We are hoping for a combination of government grant funds and private fundraising.”

Once the memorial is constructed, Chestnut Street will be closed to through traffic at the Court Street end, with one lane of travel accessible from State Street for businesses and residents located on the road. There will be no more on-street parking between Court and State streets.

Exavation work was schedlued to begin on the site on Wednesday, Nov. 12. For more information about the African American Burial Ground, go to www.cityofportsmouth.com/abg.

holiday giving

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, United Way of the Greater Seacoast has released its 2008 Holiday Giving and Volunteering Guide. The annual guide provides a comprehensive list of charitable organizations in the region, detailing their missions and their specific needs for volunteer work and donations.

The many agencies included in the 32-page publication are listed alphabetically by town, starting with Rockingham Nutrition & Meals on Wheels in Brentwood and ending with Richie McFarland Children’s Center in Stratham. The guide also has a two-page “quick finder” to help people identify and locate specific categories of need. Areas of need include food, clothing, toys, gifts, personal care items and many other things.

More than 70 agencies are listed in the guide, each with contact information and descriptions of the assistance needed. Each guide also includes a United Way donation form.

United Way of the Greater Seacoast is a non-profit organization dedicated to “rallying resources to address the community’s most pressing needs.” Tips for using the Giving and Volunteering Guide include forming a group of friends or co-workers to “adopt” a family or individual; starting collection drives at places of employment; taking up collections for gift certificates or vouchers; and contacting nursing homes to inquire about visiting residents on holidays.

For more information or to download the guide online, visit www.uwgs.org.