II
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 728
To establish the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and
Educational Center in New York, New York, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY25, 2025
Mrs. G
ILLIBRANDintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To establish the African Burial Ground International Memo-
rial Museum and Educational Center in New York, New
York, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘African Burial Ground 4
International Memorial Museum and Educational Center 5
Act’’. 6
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7
Congress finds that— 8
(1) the African Burial Ground National His-9
toric Landmark in New York, New York, holds the 10
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remains of up to 20,000 enslaved Africans and 1
early-generation African Americans from the colonial 2
era; 3
(2) the Africans and African Americans that 4
suffered under slavery show us the strength of the 5
human character and provide us with a model of 6
courage, commitment, and perseverance; 7
(3) as President George W. Bush stated on 8
July 8, 2003, during his remarks at Goree Island, 9
Senegal: ‘‘For 250 years the captives endured an as-10
sault on their culture and their dignity. The spirit 11
of Africans in America did not break. . . . All the 12
generations of oppression under the laws of man 13
could not crush the hope of freedom and defeat the 14
purposes of God.’’; 15
(4) on February 27, 2006, President George W. 16
Bush established the National Monument, which was 17
comprised of the approximately 15,000-square foot 18
parcel of the National Historic Landmark that was 19
bounded by Duane and Elk Streets in Lower Man-20
hattan; 21
(5) an international memorial museum facility 22
dedicated to those individuals who suffered the grave 23
injustice of slavery in the United States, while at the 24
same time helping to build the country, would— 25
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(A) reflect the significance of the African 1
Burial Ground; and 2
(B) help the people of the United States 3
understand the past and honor the history of all 4
people in the United States; 5
(6) in 1998, the Secretary of the Smithsonian 6
Institution— 7
(A) stated that the African Burial Ground 8
affords the perfect opportunity to gain insight 9
into— 10
(i) the institution of slavery, as prac-11
ticed in urban, rural, northern, and south-12
ern parts of the United States; and 13
(ii) the international slave trade; and 14
(B) proposed that a partnership be formed 15
among the Smithsonian, the National Park 16
Service, and the General Services Administra-17
tion to further develop the African Burial 18
Ground; 19
(7) the National Museum of African American 20
History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r et seq.), 21
which authorized construction of a museum in 22
Washington, DC, identified the period of slavery as 23
one of the periods of the African-American diaspora 24
that would be encompassed by the museum; 25
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(8) the African Burial Ground— 1
(A) is unlike any other anthropological and 2
symbolic site in the United States or the world; 3
(B) includes DNA samples from the re-4
markably well-preserved human remains that 5
will enable researchers to trace the home 6
‘‘roots’’ in Africa of those individuals buried at 7
the African Burial Ground; and 8
(C) provides a fitting location for a na-9
tional memorial facility, relating to the National 10
Museum of African American History and Cul-11
ture that would— 12
(i) pay special tribute to— 13
(I) the thousands of enslaved in-14
dividuals who are buried at the Afri-15
can Burial Ground; and 16
(II) all of the individuals who 17
were enslaved during the history of 18
the United States; 19
(ii) examine the African cultural tra-20
ditions brought to the United States by the 21
enslaved; and 22
(iii) explore in-depth the institution of 23
slavery; 24
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(9) a memorial museum at the site of the Afri-1
can Burial Ground— 2
(A) was first recommended by a Federal 3
steering committee in 1992; and 4
(B) in conjunction with the World Trade 5
Center memorial and other nearby sites, would 6
attract millions of visitors from the United 7
States and abroad, making a substantial con-8
tribution to the development and revitalization 9
of Lower Manhattan in response to the attacks 10
on the World Trade Center of September 11, 11
2001; 12
(10) Public Law 99–511 (100 Stat. 2080) en-13
couraged support for the establishment of a com-14
memorative structure within the National Park Sys-15
tem or on other Federal land that is dedicated to the 16
promotion of understanding, knowledge, opportunity, 17
and equality for all people; 18
(11) similar to the National Museum of the Na-19
tive American that was established by section 3(a) of 20
the National Museum of the American Indian Act 21
(20 U.S.C. 80q–1(a)), a memorial museum at the 22
site of the African Burial Ground would benefit from 23
a partnership among— 24
(A) the Federal Government; 25
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(B) the State of New York; 1
(C) the city of New York; and 2
(D) members of the private sector; 3
(12) the African Burial Ground— 4
(A) has been determined to be nationally 5
significant as— 6
(i) a National Historic Landmark; 7
and 8
(ii) a National Monument; and 9
(B) provides an important opportunity for 10
interpretation, understanding, partnership, and 11
pride; and 12
(13) the National Park Service— 13
(A) has played an important role in the de-14
velopment of the African Burial Ground (in-15
cluding the designation of the African Burial 16
Ground as a National Monument); 17
(B) successfully operates other national fa-18
cilities in the city of New York that symbolize 19
freedom and the quest for freedom in America, 20
including— 21
(i) the Statue of Liberty National 22
Monument; and 23
(ii) the Ellis Island National Monu-24
ment; 25
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(C) provided key support to the Presi-1
dential Study Commission for the National Mu-2
seum of African American History and Culture; 3
and 4
(D) is well-suited to assume a leadership 5
role with respect to the creation of the Museum. 6
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7
In this Act: 8
(1) A
DMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-9
trator’’ means the Administrator of the General 10
Services Administration. 11
(2) A
DVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 12
Council’’ means the African Burial Ground Advisory 13
Council established by section 7(a). 14
(3) C
ITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of 15
New York, New York. 16
(4) E
XPANSION PROPERTY .—The term ‘‘expan-17
sion property’’ means the property that is acquired 18
by the Secretary under section 5(a). 19
(5) M
USEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the 20
African Burial Ground International Memorial Mu-21
seum and Educational Center established by section 22
4(a). 23
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(6) NATIONAL LANDMARK .—The term ‘‘Na-1
tional Landmark’’ means the African Burial Ground 2
National Historic Landmark in the City. 3
(7) N
ATIONAL MONUMENT .—The term ‘‘Na-4
tional Monument’’ means the African Burial Ground 5
National Monument in the City. 6
(8) S
ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 7
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-8
rector of the National Park Service. 9
(9) S
TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 10
of New York. 11
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF MUSEUM. 12
(a) E
STABLISHMENT.—There is established at the 13
National Monument a memorial museum and educational 14
center, to be known as the ‘‘African Burial Ground Inter-15
national Memorial Museum and Educational Center’’. 16
(b) P
URPOSES.—The purposes of the Museum are— 17
(1) to serve as a permanent living memorial— 18
(A) to the enslaved who are buried at the 19
African Burial Ground; and 20
(B) to other Africans and African Ameri-21
cans who were enslaved; 22
(2) to examine the African cultural traditions 23
brought to the United States by the enslaved; 24
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(3) to explore in-depth the institution of slavery 1
in the United States and other parts of the world; 2
(4) to provide a space for— 3
(A) permanent and temporary exhibits; 4
and 5
(B) the collection and study of artifacts 6
and documents; and 7
(5) to encourage collaboration between the Mu-8
seum and the National Museum of African American 9
History and Culture, other museums, historically 10
Black colleges and universities, historical societies, 11
educational institutions, and other appropriate enti-12
ties and organizations, such as the African Burial 13
Ground Memorial Foundation, including collabora-14
tion with respect to— 15
(A) the development of cooperative pro-16
grams and exhibitions, including through dig-17
ital, electronic, and interactive technologies; 18
(B) the identification, management, and 19
care of Museum collections; and 20
(C) the training of Museum and National 21
Park Service professionals and other persons 22
concerned with heritage preservation. 23
(c) A
SSOCIATIONWITHNATIONALMUSEUM.—The 24
Museum shall become associated with the National Mu-25
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seum of African American History and Culture, in a man-1
ner to be determined by the Secretary, in consultation with 2
the Advisory Council and the Board of Regents of the 3
Smithsonian Institution. 4
SEC. 5. SITE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT. 5
(a) I
NGENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 6
with the Administrator, the Advisory Council, and other 7
appropriate entities or organizations, such as the African 8
Burial Ground Memorial Foundation, shall— 9
(1) acquire for the Museum property that is lo-10
cated— 11
(A) at 22 Reade Street, which is adjacent 12
to the National Monument; or 13
(B) in any other area of the National 14
Landmark other than the location described in 15
subparagraph (A); and 16
(2) plan, design, and construct the Museum on 17
the property acquired under paragraph (1). 18
(b) F
EDERALSHARE.—The Secretary shall pay
2
⁄3 19
of the total costs of— 20
(1) acquiring property for the Museum; and 21
(2) planning, designing, constructing, recon-22
structing, and renovating, as applicable, the Mu-23
seum. 24
(c) C
ONTRACTINGAUTHORITY.— 25
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad-1
ministrator may enter into any agreements with 2
each other, the City, the State, and other parties, 3
such as the African Burial Ground Memorial Foun-4
dation, that are necessary for the acquisition, by do-5
nation or other means, of property for— 6
(A) establishing the Museum; and 7
(B) planning, designing, constructing, re-8
constructing, and renovating, as applicable, the 9
Museum. 10
(2) S
ITE ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may ac-11
quire property under subsection (a)(1) by purchase, 12
long-term lease, or any other appropriate means of 13
acquisition, as determined by the Secretary. 14
(d) E
XPANSION OFNATIONALMONUMENT.—The ex-15
pansion property is incorporated in, and shall be managed 16
as part of, the National Monument. 17
SEC. 6. OPERATION OF THE MUSEUM. 18
(a) I
NGENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 19
with the Advisory Council and the African Burial Ground 20
Memorial Foundation, shall operate the Museum. 21
(b) A
UTHORITIES.—The Secretary, in consultation 22
with the Advisory Council, may— 23
(1) purchase, accept, borrow, and otherwise ac-24
quire artifacts for the collections of the Museum; 25
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(2) loan, exchange, sell, and otherwise dispose 1
of any part of the collections of the Museum, if the 2
proceeds of the disposition are used for additions to 3
the collections of the Museum; 4
(3) specify criteria with respect to the use of 5
the collections and resources of the Museum, includ-6
ing policies on programming, education, exhibitions, 7
and research; 8
(4) provide for preservation, restoration, and 9
maintenance of the collections of the Museum; 10
(5) solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, be-11
quests, and devises of real and personal property for 12
the purpose of facilitating the work of the Museum; 13
(6) contract with such parties as may be nec-14
essary to facilitate the operation of the Museum; 15
(7) administer the National Monument as a 16
unit of the National Park System in accordance 17
with— 18
(A) this Act; and 19
(B) the laws generally applicable to units 20
of the National Park System, including applica-21
ble provisions of division A of subtitle I of title 22
54, United States Code; and 23
(8) conduct any other activities that are nec-24
essary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 25
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SEC. 7. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 1
(a) E
STABLISHMENT.—There is established within 2
the Department of the Interior an advisory council to be 3
known as the ‘‘African Burial Ground Advisory Council’’. 4
(b) M
EMBERSHIP.— 5
(1) C
OMPOSITION.—The Advisory Council shall 6
be composed of the following members or their des-7
ignees: 8
(A) The Secretary, who shall serve as 9
Chairperson of the Advisory Council. 10
(B) The Director of the National Park 11
Service. 12
(C) The Secretary of the Smithsonian In-13
stitution. 14
(D) The Administrator. 15
(E) The Governor of the State. 16
(F) The Mayor of the City. 17
(G) The President of the Borough of Man-18
hattan. 19
(H) Fourteen members, to be appointed by 20
the Secretary, taking into consideration— 21
(i) recommendations from organiza-22
tions and entities that are committed to 23
the legacy of the African Burial Ground, 24
such as the African Burial Ground Memo-25
rial Foundation; and 26
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(ii) recommendations from the mem-1
bers of the Advisory Council. 2
(2) N
ONVOTING MEMBERS .—The Secretary 3
may appoint as nonvoting members of the Advisory 4
Council— 5
(A) members of the United States Senate; 6
(B) members of the House of Representa-7
tives; 8
(C) officials representing the City; 9
(D) officials representing the State; and 10
(E) any other individuals that the Sec-11
retary, in consultation with the members of the 12
Advisory Council, determines to be appropriate. 13
(3) D
ATE OF APPOINTMENTS .—The initial ap-14
pointment of a member under paragraph (1) shall be 15
made not later than 180 days after the date of en-16
actment of this Act. 17
(c) T
ERMS.— 18
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-19
graph (2), each member of the Advisory Council 20
shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 21
(2) I
NITIAL APPOINTEES.—Of the members 22
first appointed under subsection (b)(1)(H)— 23
(A) 5 members shall be appointed for a 24
term of 1 year; 25
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(B) 5 members shall be appointed for a 1
term of 2 years; and 2
(C) 4 members shall be appointed for a 3
terms of 3 years. 4
(3) R
EAPPOINTMENT.— 5
(A) I
N GENERAL.—A member of the Advi-6
sory Council may be reappointed, except that no 7
individual may serve on the Advisory Council 8
for a total of more than 2 terms. 9
(B) V
ACANCY APPOINTMENTS .—For pur-10
poses of subparagraph (A), the number of 11
terms an individual serves on the Advisory 12
Council shall not include any portion of a term 13
for which an individual is appointed to fill a va-14
cancy under paragraph (4)(B). 15
(4) V
ACANCIES.— 16
(A) I
N GENERAL.—A vacancy on the Advi-17
sory Council— 18
(i) shall not affect the powers of the 19
Advisory Council; and 20
(ii) shall be filled in the same manner 21
as the original appointment was made. 22
(B) T
ERM.—Any member of the Advisory 23
Council appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 24
before the expiration of the term for which the 25
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member’s predecessor was appointed shall be 1
appointed for the remainder of that term. 2
(d) D
UTIES.—The Advisory Council shall— 3
(1) make recommendations to the Secretary on 4
the planning, design, and construction of the Mu-5
seum; 6
(2) advise and assist the Secretary on all mat-7
ters relating to the administration, operation, main-8
tenance, and preservation of the Museum; 9
(3) provide significant opportunities for public 10
input with respect to carrying out the duties under 11
paragraphs (1) and (2); and 12
(4) adopt bylaws for the operation of the Advi-13
sory Council. 14
(e) C
OMPENSATION.— 15
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-16
graph (2), a member of the Advisory Council shall 17
serve without compensation. 18
(2) T
RAVEL EXPENSES .—A member of the 19
Council shall be allowed travel expenses, including 20
per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized 21
for an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 22
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 23
away from the home or regular place of business of 24
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the member in the performance of the duties of the 1
Advisory Council. 2
(f) M
EETINGS.— 3
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall 4
meet at the call of the chairperson or on the written 5
request of a majority of the members of the Advi-6
sory Council, but not fewer than 2 times each year. 7
(2) I
NITIAL MEETINGS.—During the 1-year pe-8
riod beginning on the date of the first meeting of the 9
Advisory Council, the Advisory Council shall meet 10
not fewer than 4 times for the purpose of carrying 11
out the duties of the Advisory Council. 12
(g) Q
UORUM.—A majority of the members of the Ad-13
visory Council shall constitute a quorum for the purpose 14
of conducting business, but a lesser number may receive 15
information on behalf of the Advisory Council. 16
SEC. 8. DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 17
(a) D
IRECTOR.— 18
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint 19
a Director for the Museum, taking into consider-20
ation recommendations by the Advisory Council. 21
(2) D
UTIES.—The Director of the Museum 22
shall manage the Museum, in accordance with any 23
policies established by the Secretary, in consultation 24
with the Advisory Council. 25
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(b) STAFF.— 1
(1) A
PPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, with-2
out regard to the civil service laws, appoint 2 em-3
ployees to assist the Director of the Museum in car-4
rying out the duties of the Director. 5
(2) C
OMPENSATION.—The employees appointed 6
under subsection (b) may be paid without regard to 7
the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 8
chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code. 9
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 10
(a) I
NGENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 11
(b), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-12
retary to carry out this Act— 13
(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 14
(2) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal 15
year thereafter. 16
(b) A
CQUISITION OFMUSEUMSITE.—There are au-17
thorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 18
to carry out section 5. 19
(c) A
VAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 20
subsections (a) and (b) shall remain available, without fis-21
cal year limitation, until expended. 22
(d) U
SE OFFUNDS.—Amounts made available under 23
this section may be used to support the Museum and ex-24
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pand or establish programs that promote and preserve the 1
legacy of the African Burial Ground, including— 2
(1) using amounts made available under this 3
section to raise funds from private sources to sup-4
port and promote the Museum; 5
(2) supporting curriculum development, work-6
shops, and community outreach to deepen public un-7
derstanding of the historical significance of the Afri-8
can Burial Ground; 9
(3) establishing a dedicated visitor’s center to 10
provide an immersive educational experience, includ-11
ing interactive exhibits and technology-driven tools 12
to enhance public engagement; and 13
(4) ensuring the long-term sustainability of the 14
facilities and organizational objectives of the Mu-15
seum. 16
Æ
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