meet Ranger Doug

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meet Ranger Doug

August 3, 2011 by elliottzetta

One of my goals in writing about black history is to ignite the imagination of urban kids—many of whom walk past historical monuments every day without understanding or appreciating their significance. Ship of Souls will come out next year and since the book is dedicated to my cousin Kodie (who lives in Canada), I decided to make a short film for him featuring all the sites mentioned in the story. Today I stopped by the African Burial Ground monument and was lucky to find Ranger Doug Massenberg on duty—I first met Ranger Doug a couple of years ago and had the privilege of taking his fantastic tour of lower Manhattan. His passion for African American history is evident—and contagious! I’m definitely sending my students here for an assignment; my college is just a few blocks away and yet I wonder how many students (and faculty members) have stopped to pay respect…if YOU haven’t visited the African Burial Ground museum and monument, put it on your bucket list now. It’s necessary viewing…

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Posted in activism, Africa, education, family, historical fiction, history, race & politics, religion & spirituality, speculative fiction, teaching, young adult novels | 4 Comments

4 Responses

on August 4, 2011 at 1:25 am | Reply missinpiece

wow! that is one serious ranger. if only everyone were so enthusiastic… next trip to NYC i must go there….
on August 4, 2011 at 3:15 pm | Reply amymckie

Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to try to make it next time I’m in the area.
on August 5, 2011 at 12:49 pm | Reply elliottzetta

It’s a shame, really, b/c the monument is in a very busy part of the city but people walk by every day–see the ranger on duty, see the mounds of soil, see the granite monument–and keep right on walking…there’s another statue on the next block and it’s mostly used as a skater hangout. The city ought to do more to promote both sites, and I’m hoping my book will help with that.
on August 12, 2011 at 12:24 am | Reply Karen Simpson

I so want to visit. Hopefully next year.