New York, NY – On Thursday, October 9, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, artist Dr. Lorenzo Pace, and other local leaders and partners will celebrate the annual Triumph of the Human Spirit Day, in Manhattan’s Foley Square. This year, the 25th anniversary event will welcome students and members of the public to learn about the African Burial Ground and the history of Africans – both free and enslaved – in New York City. Emceed by Howard University’s Carole Boyce-Davies with a keynote by Reverend Kirsten John Foy, the event will include a new, site-specific dance commission by Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, drumming, history lessons, traditional African stilt walking, art-making, and more.
“On Triumph of the Human Spirit Day, we invite all New Yorkers to come together and reflect on the ancestors who struggled, celebrated, lived, and died in this place we call home, and whose stories and examples can continue to offer insight and hope for us today, if only we take the time to better understand their experience,” said NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “As we mark the 400th anniversary of our city’s founding, Dr. Lorenzo Pace’s soaring tribute to the African people who lived here – both freely and against their will – gives us an entry point to commune with and honor their lives and the sacrifices they made so that New York could one day be a home for all of us.”
“I built ‘Triumph of the Human Spirit’ as a testament to our ancestors’ perseverance as well as their victory in emerging from the most horrendous conditions to attain their freedom,” said Dr. Lorenzo Pace. “Together, alongside the Statue of Liberty, this sculpture stands as a powerful symbol of freedom and equity for all in America, and all humanity around the world.”
“St. Nick’s Alliance is proud to support our Williamsburg neighbor, Dr. Lorenzo Pace, and his efforts to celebrate Triumph of the Human Spirit Day and his monument in Foley Square, which honors the nearby African American Burial Ground and the critical role African Americans have played in New York City,” said St. Nick’s Alliance Executive Director Michael Rochford.
“Triumph of the Human Spirit,” located in Manhattan’s Foley Square, is the world’s largest site-specific outdoor installation dedicated to the discourse of African-American slavery. Installed in 2000, the monument’s centerpiece is a five-story-high, 300-ton sculpture designed and built by Dr. Lorenzo Pace. The artwork was commissioned by the City of New York through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art program to pay homage to those interred in the African Burial Ground, which lies beneath the Monument’s footprint and stretches for nearly seven square miles below the concrete and asphalt of lower Manhattan.
Once forgotten but then rediscovered during pre-construction excavation for a new federal office building, the African Burial Ground National Monument – designed by architect Rodney Leon – is the final resting place for many free and enslaved colonial-era Africans. “Triumph of the Human Spirit” was New York City’s response to memorialize those souls.
Each year, Dr. Lorenzo Pace hosts a community event at the “Triumph of the Human Spirit” monument in honor of the site. Last year, the 24th anniversary event was the largest to date, with more than 300 public school students and members of the public in attendance to learn about the African Burial Ground, the history of slavery, and the legacy of the African diaspora in New York City.