Sarasota’s City Commission Recognizes Efforts of New College Public Archaeology Lab

New College Professor of Anthropology Uzi Baram and his students were recognized by the City of Sarasota on June 17 for their work over several years on the Galilee Cemetery, one of two African-American owned cemeteries in the city’s historic Newtown district.

After years of neglect, the grave markers and vaults had deteriorated and the Galilee Cemetery Restoration Task Force recruited Prof. Baram to document the lives of the interred.
Baram, director of the New College Public Archaeology Lab, trained students to systematically record the grave markers, which totaled more than 1,500. He documented the process and the history in the lab’s research report, titled “Report on the 2010-2012 Survey of the Galilee Cemetery in Sarasota, Florida: Community, Race and Commemoration.” The report is available at Sarasota public libraries.
At the city commission’s meeting, Mayor Shannon Snyder and Vice-Mayor Willie Shaw presented Baram with a plaque dedicated to the team’s efforts and bearing the names of students who worked on the project: Matt Andersen, Elizabeth Bennett, Lee Bloch, Roz Crews, Evan Giomi, Bailey Howard, Crystal Kersey, Michelle Leahy, Chelsea Montgomery, Rachel Roach, Alexis Santos, Jehan Sinclair, Travis Small, Liz Usherwood, Ryann Wolf, Michael Waas and Mark Wilco.