Diasporic Territories
Tiana Howell
Diasporic Territories examines how the African American diaspora has been shaped and driven by the value forcibly imposed upon the territories which it occupied throughout history. This study aims to taxonomize the landscapes inhabited by the black population across the United States from 1619 to the present, and to understand how these territories influenced the movement and expansion of this community over time. Focusing on an analysis of the Freedmen Town - settlements throughout the US established by free blacks who either earned their freedom or escaped - this speculative project focuses on the historic settlement of Seneca Village in Central Park. While informational plaques have been installed at the site, and while archaeological digs have identified and documented its history through objects, the physical presence of the village itself remains undetectable. To address this, this project draws inspiration from Hejduk’s Masques in attempting to symbolically reveal the value, space, and worth that was invested into this territory as a part of black history. By recasting the historical buildings of the village as living, kinetic structures appearing and disappearing in their original locations, the intervention attempts to introduce an aspect of mechanized time and ritual into the constructed nature of the park and to instigate critical reflection with an intervention that is both playful and haunting.
De/Racination Map: Diagramming territories of displacement within the African American Diaspora
the language.
the timeline.
the land.
1619 - Jamestown, VA; First Slaves Shipped to the Colonies
1820: Missouri Compromise
Domestic Slave Trade Routes
1870: National Bus and Railway Routes
1619: 13 Colonies
1861: Territories at the start of the Civil War
1849: Underground Railroad Routes
1916-1940: First Great Migration
1787: Northwest Ordinance
Slave States and Territories
1862: Contraband Refugee Camps for Colored troops during the Civil War
Most populated destinations during the Great Migration
the people.
The expansion of United States Territories leaves opportunity for African Americans to dismantle the boundaries maintained during slavery and explore new lands. This dispersion gave way for both new freedoms and methods of defining occupied territories. Lands were claimed, communities were built, and the African American population increased, contributing to the density of the country. (Data: U.S. Census Bureau. Population Density, 1870-1990. Prepared by Social Explorer.)
1619-1864: Slaveholding Plantations
1936-1967: The Green Book Traveler’s Guide Network
~1700 - 1920: Freedmen Towns
1790 to Now: Nodes of Racial Protest, Riots, and Civil Unrest
1939: HOLC Redlined Cities
2017 - Now: United States Opportunity Zones
the history.
Historic Territories of New York
Analyzing overlaps of the historical territories on the current urban fabric reveals a transitional phasing of territories that define the African American experience. This concept aims to mark those moments within the current landscape of the city through resurfacing these structures that support specific historic locations within the city, These moments that define the African American historic experience within the city of New York include the African Slave Market from 1617 on Wall Street, the Freedmen Town of Seneca Village lost due to eminent domain in the planning of Central Park, the lost businesses that contributed to the Green Book for Black Travelers signifying an early network of Black-owned Businesses, and how they all fall within the context of the previously designated red-lined communities and current Opportunity Zones within Manhattan.
New York City Slave Market, 1626
Freedmen Towns, Five Points and Seneca Village
HOLC Redlining Map of Manhattan, ~1939
Manhattan Network of Locations Identified in “The Green Book”, 1954
New York City Slave Market Location, Corner of Water Street and Wall Street
Greensward Plan Presentation Board No.5 showing a building on the park site (NYC Municipal Archives)
HOLC Redlining Map of Manhattan
New York State and New York City excerts from the 1954 “Green Book”
the freedmen town typology.
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Tulare County, California
Mobile, Alabama
Pike County, Illinois
Jefferson Township, Indiana
New York, New York
St. Helena Island
Allensworth, 1908
Africatown, ~1860
New Philadelphia, 1836
Roberts Settlement, 1847 **
Seneca Village, 1825
Fort Mose, St. Augustine, Florida
evacuated when Florida was ceased by the British; 1763
Seneca Village, NY
victim of eminent domain in creating Central Park; 1857
Freedmen Village, Arlington, Virginia
closed to utilize land for the Arlington National Cemetery; 1900
Blackdom, New Mexico
abandoned due to relocation after drought; 1919
the memory typology.
Markers and Plaques
Roberts Settlement, Indiana
Bridges and Infrastructure
Freedmans Village Bridge, Arlington, Virginia
Murals
Greenwood Cultural Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Monuments
African Burial Ground, New York, New York - Rodney Leon
Sculptures
Witness Walls, Nashville, Tennessee - Walter Hood
Museums
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
the diasporic masque.
Seneca Village Site Plan
Alls Angel's’ Church
Typological Structures
Home of Ellen and John Butler
Order of Deployment in Experiencing the Site
Home of Andrew Williams
Phasing of automated building of structures.