Dr. Lorenzo Pace, a Williamsburg Brooklyn artist and resident, was commissioned in 1993 by NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art to create a monument at Manhattan’s Foley Square that would pay homage to the Africans interred in the colonial-era African Burial Ground beneath its footprint. In October 2000, Triumph of the Human Spirit (a five-story, 300-ton, black-granite sculpture in the shape of a legendary antelope figure of the Bambara people of Mali) was unveiled.
Each year since the anniversary of this unveiling has been celebrated. In 2020, the celebration was first called Triumph of the Human Spirit Day.
This year on October 22 it was celebrated for the 24th time with dance, song, stories, history, and poetry. In addition, a proclamation to Dr. Pace from Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso was read by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
Among the presenters and performers were: Women of the Calabash, Amerikanké Kultural Arts Kollective, Curtis Archer and Karen Murray, Patricia King-Butler, Minister Ron Pace, Holyguruu, Laurie Cumbo, Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, Phenomenal Young Woman, MoJazz Dance, and more.
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