An Ivy League university on Saturday buried the remains of 19 black people whose skulls were used as part of a racist scientific research project in the early 19th century.
The University of Pennsylvania will create a historic monument honoring Philadelphians whose skulls were unethically collected to support white supremacy research aimed at proving that blacks are a different race from whites. A memorial service was held.
The study began in the 1830s with physician Samuel G. Morton, who looted bodies from institutions housing poor and mentally disabled black people.
The body parts of unidentified and non-consenting subjects had been on display at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology since 1966.
University officials say they are trying to right past wrongs through reparations, but they have faced pushback from local activists and officials are rushing to plan burials before identifying the remains. They claim that the plan was drawn up without seeking community input.
“Repatriation should be part of what a museum does, and we need to embrace that,” said Christopher Woods, the museum’s director.
Woods said he chose above-ground burial in case any of the 19 were identified, and that the mausoleum is “designed to be fully reversible if the facts and circumstances change.”
Some local activists, including researchers, argue that the decision to bury the remains at Eden Cemetery, a local historic Black cemetery in Derby, Pennsylvania, was made without community cooperation. Others dispute the idea that Philadelphians have lost their identity. .
“They never did their own research about who these people were and just took Morton’s word for it,” said Lila Monteiro, an anthropological archaeologist at Rutgers University. “If you don’t even want to do research, you shouldn’t do this.”
Monteiro discovered through the city archives that one of the men’s mothers was Native American. That means his remains must be repatriated under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The university removed the remains from the reburial so they could be evaluated, but Monteiro and others were furious to learn that the university had already placed other remains in public over the weekend.
In a statement, members of the Philadelphia Black Descendants Community Group, an organization made up of people who identify as descendants of some of the 19, said in a statement that they were “devastated and hurt” that the burial took place without them. said.
“Given this new information, they are taking time to process and consider how best to honor their ancestors in the future,” the organization said.
The collection of remains, some of which were used for educational purposes in 2020, was unethically collected in the 1830s.
Morton collected at least 900 skulls in Philadelphia, when he was a professor of medicine and was responsible for training most doctors, which critics say reinforced the medical racism that is still evident today. claims.
“There may actually be medical racism behind it,” Monteiro said. “His ideas became part of how medical students were trained.”
The Penn Museum defended its actions in a statement.
“In order to prioritize the human dignity of the individuals and balance conservation due diligence with the logistical requirements of the Historic Eden Cemetery, the burials of 19 Black people in Philadelphia will be scheduled before interfaith ceremonies and blessings. ,” the group said.
The university still has more than 300 Native American remains in its Morton Skull Collection, which will be repatriated under federal law.
The burial comes after the American Museum of Natural History in New York City was forced to close its Native American exhibits on Friday as part of new regulations approved by the White House last month to speed up the compensation process. It was conducted.
AMNH planned to strip exhibits of Native American artifacts and send them back to their former tribes, in accordance with the American Indian Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
The closure will mean approximately 10,000 square feet of exhibit space will be closed to visitors.
Comes with post wire.
