Thresholds of Memory: Seneca Village Burial Ground and Memorial

Eminent Domain was a system of oppression used to expropriate privately held black property to create public infrastructure and wealth for the city. This weapon of erasure manipulated assumptions about habitation, land use, and value to the benefit of white property holders and residents of the city rather than the free Black property holders in New York that had created self-sustaining communities defined by their distance from central real estate logic.

Thresholds of Memory is a site of remembrance, healing, and restoration, honoring the displaced community of Seneca Village. Designed as a journey through spatial transitions, the memorial engages visitors in an active dialogue with history—moving through spaces that evoke presence, absence, and resilience. Each threshold symbolizes a passage through time, acknowledging the lives uprooted by eminent domain while envisioning a future rooted in justice and collective memory. By redefining land beyond the confines of property and ownership, the space transforms into a living archive—where past, present, and future converge to honor those erased and empower those who remain.

Contributors: Uzayr Agha