Doris Lango-Leak described the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan as a “Mecca” for the city’s African American community.

“This is not just a history course but something they can relate to and the history of America,” she said.

Lango-Leak is a National Park Service volunteer at the African Burial Ground.

She worked nearby in social services for decades.

Lango-Leak first noticed the site 30 years ago.

In 1991, construction crews found the remains of 15,000 colonial-era African Americans as they prepared to construct a new municipal building.

Scores of people protested and demanded respect for the people buried there.

“Something I was interested in: Black history… and I wanted to know more and be a part of that,” Lango-Leak said.

A national monument and visitor center dedicated to those interred there was built instead.

Lango-Leak started volunteering at the Burial Ground more than a decade and a half ago. Nowadays, Lango-Leak welcomes visitors and tallies how many visitors are in the space.

She responds to inquiries and shows educational films. For Black History Month, she’s hosting arts and crafts classes.

“It’s just a nice way to do a family, do a friendly and share the culture with other people,” she said.

When Lango-Leak is not at the Burial Ground, she works as a volunteer tour guide at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

She also helped fundraise and deliver supplies to South Africa.

Closer to home, a poem etched into the African Burial Ground National Monument motivates Lango-Leak to keep up the work.

It reads:
“For all those who were lost
For all those who were stolen
For all those who were left behind
For all those who were not forgotten”

“We will continue to strive to make to things better for everyone,” she said. “And we will continue to tell our story.”

For making sure the people interred at the African Burial Ground are never forgotten, Doris Lango-Leak is our New Yorker of the Week.