The multi-year project began in 2013 when the graves of 36 individuals of African descent were discovered on the grounds of the Galliard Center. The Anson Street African Burial Ground Project (ASABG) was formed to help guide the reinternment and memorialization process. Starting in 2017 ASABG began hosting "Community Conversations" to get community guidance on how best to honor the Ancestors. Concurrently, genetic research began on the remains allowing researchers to date the cemetery to 1760-1790. In 2019 the Ancestors were reinterred and in 2023 an artist was selected to create a memorial which will be placed at the site.
