Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony

In conjunction with St. Augustine's 450th commemoration, a Remembrance Ceremony will be held to honor Africans (both free and enslaved) who endured the journey from Africa to the New World, known as the Middle Passage, as well as the survivors who went on to build the nation. The Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony will be held on the north lawn of the Castillo de San Marcos at noon on February 7, 2015.

Later that day, the commemoration will continue with the installation of a historic marker at the Mission Nombre de Dios to identify St. Augustine as an arrival port for Africans. The historic marker will be unveiled at the Mission Nombre de Dios at 3 p.m.

The Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony will include a Native American blessing, prayers for ancestors by representatives of diverse faiths, and a traditional libation by spiritual advisor Malidoma Some. Also in attendance will be Seminole Chief Justice Willie Johns, Reverend Israel of Mt. Carmel Primitive Baptist Church, the Sons of Israel Congregation, the Jacksonville Islamic Center, Dr. Dorothy Israel of the Fort Mose Historical Society, Reverend Ted Voorhees of St. Cyprian Episcopal Church, and Professor William Hamilton, Jr. of the Buddhist lay organization, Soka Gakkai International. Support for the Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony is provided as part of the Castillo de San Marcos & Fort Matanzas African American Community Outreach Program.

The Historic Marker Unveiling will focus on the narrative of the African-American journey through enslavement, freedom, the struggle for civil rights, conflict, and resistance, all of which began in 1565 in St. Augustine. Florida's first Black ordained Roman Catholic priest, Reverend James R. Boddie, Jr., pastor of Christ the King parish, will represent the Bishop and Diocese at the event.

The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) is a non-profit organization commemorating the nearly 2 million Africans who perished in the Middle Passage journey of the transatlantic human trade. The MPCPMP has researched and identified ports of entry for enslaved Africans, sponsored ancestral remembrance ceremonies and installed Middle Passage markers at more than 175 middle passage ports in 50 nations of North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Admission: Both events are free and open to the public.

When and Where? On Saturday, February 7, 2015:

• The Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony will take place at noon at the Castillo de San Marcos, located at 1 S. Castillo Drive in downtown St. Augustine.
• The Historic Marker Unveiling will take place at 3 p.m. at the Mission Nombre de Dios, which is located at 27 Ocean Ave. just north of St. Augustine's historic district.

For more information, visit here.

The Middle Passage Ceremony and Historic Marker Unveiling events are part of St. Augustine's 450th Commemoration, which will culminate in September 2015 with the 450th anniversary of the City's founding in 1565.