Slave-Market-NYC-1730 http://www.columbia.edu

The New York City Council has approved a monument recognising the contributions of slaves to the city’s founding and economy.

The marker will be placed in the Wall Street area, about a block from where the city’s first slave market stood.

When the council approved the market in 1711, almost 1,000 of the city’s 6,400 people were black, according to Columbia University.

The monument is expected to be unveiled this summer, officials told the BBC.

The new marker will join 38 other markers – mostly commemorating success in the financial and construction industries – in lower Manhattan, WNYC reported.

Officials told the local radio station that the sign memorialising the contributions of slaves would be revealed on 19 June, a day known as “Juneteenth”, which marks the anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the confederate south.

Read More  New York City council approves monument to slaves – BBC News.