Celebrating the African Spirit Marker Approved

POUGHKEEPSIE – Celebrating the African Spirit (CAS), an organization whose mission is to commemorate the lives of enslaved Africans in Poughkeepsie, NY, and the Hudson Valley region, is proud to announce the formal approval of the permanent installation of CAS’s first marker to honor their contributions to the wealth and prosperity of the region.

The marker, which was approved by the City of Poughkeepsie in late summer, will be installed in Waryas Park, on the Poughkeepsie waterfront. The location is historically significant because many enslaved persons worked along the waterfront loading and unloading ships and ferrying passengers and supplies across the Hudson River.

CAS is working with Poughkeepsie-based 4th State Metals on the fabrication and installation of the marker, which depicts the history of enslaved Africans and their descendants in the region from the 1700s to today. The installation and subsequent unveiling are expected to take place around the 2025 Juneteenth holiday.

CAS’s work is rooted in the reality that slavery existed in the Mid-Hudson Region, and in Poughkeepsie from the earliest days, and that enslaved adults and children were major contributors to the growth of what is now the City of Poughkeepsie and the Mid-Hudson region.

Carmen McGill, a cofounder of CAS and current Co-Chair, notes, “The works, language, and traditions of Africans–both enslaved and free–are part of the legacy of American history and should be taught to, and treasured by all Americans. This lack of knowledge contributes to ongoing denial regarding the consequences of centuries of slavery and the pervasiveness of racism and inequality in America today. The marker project will honor and memorialize the enslaved in this region as it acknowledges the resilience of their descendants.”

McGill’s fellow Co-Chair, Katherine Hite, a professor at Vassar College, whose work focuses on how various countries and collectivities recognize and memorialize their violent political pasts, says, “I often see how history is written by those who have the power to tell it, and I’m grateful that CAS will finally be able to shed light on histories untold for far too long.”