Janice R. Andrews
The University of Pennsylvania has rekindled a disagreement with the community by controversially burying the bones of 19 Black Philadelphians who were a part of the infamous Morton Cranial Collection. Samuel George Morton, a physician, put together this collection in the 1830s, and it supported racist pseudoscience that affected science and legitimised slavery.
The university held a memorial service for the Black Philadelphians last week in an effort to right historical wrongs in the midst of a national movement calling for the return of collections associated with unethical behaviour. Tension has been raised, meanwhile, by the choice to place the remains at Eden Cemetery, a historically significant Black cemetery.
The director of the Penn Museum, Christopher Woods, defended the choice, saying that repatriation ought to be the museum’s first priority. However, detractors contend that the institution did not include the impacted Black communities in the decision-making process.
Aliy A. Muhammad, a community activist, expressed concerns and emphasised that the community should make decisions on what to do instead of relying on the organisation that has historically controlled the remains. Muhammad questioned “repatriation” as a concept and faulted the absence of community involvement.
In response to questions about the remains’ unidentifiable nature, Woods reassured the assembly that the burial could be undone if additional research allowed for identification. Still, this did little to allay opponents’ worries.
Findings that some of the Black Philadelphians’ remains were utilised for teaching up until 2020 prompted the institution to issue an apology in 2021 and change its policy for managing human remains. To help with the next steps, an advisory council was formed, with the major members being religious leaders and university authorities.
Lyra Monteiro, an anthropological archaeologist, disputed the committee’s lack of diversity and said that the Philadelphians’ identities had not been lost to time. She discovered details regarding one person’s Native American ancestry, indicating that adherence to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is necessary.
The university carried out the burial in spite of opposition from the community, keeping Black Philadelphians Descendant Community Group members out of the event. The group conveyed their shock and said they will remember their forefathers later.
Maintaining a balance between human dignity and conservation diligence, the Penn Museum defended its activities. Although Woods is still upbeat about the community’s support for the burial choice, he admits that more study and repatriation efforts are necessary, especially because the Morton Cranial Collection still contains over 300 Native American remains.
