1. Short title This Act may be cited as the African-American Burial Grounds Network Act . 2. Findings Congress finds as follows: (1) From 1619 until 1865, millions of African Americans throughout the United States were enslaved. (2) Slaveholders often controlled where and how the dead were buried, and prohibited burials on valuable land. As a result, slave burial grounds were often confined to remote areas or marginal property. (3) Such burial grounds were rarely documented, and they infrequently appear on historical maps. A lack of accurate information is typical of African-American cemeteries from before the Civil War. (4) Following the end of slavery, many African-American families continued to face restrictions on where they could bury their dead. Across much of the United States, local laws segregated burial sites by race. African-American burial grounds often failed to receive the type of maintenance and record-keeping that predominantly White burial grounds enjoyed. (5) Many African-American burial grounds from both before and after the Civil War are in a state of disrepair or inaccessibility due to overgrowth of vegetation, crumbling physical structures, and other challenges. (6) There is no official national record or database for African-American burial ground locations, and the location of many sites is unknown. As a result, the family members and descendants of those interred are unable to visit these sites to honor and remember their ancestors. (7) Abandoned African-American burial grounds are often discovered when construction projects inadvertently disturb human remains, slowing or halting completion of those projects. (8) The presence and location of historic African-American burial grounds should be recorded, and there should be coordinated national, State, local, and Tribal efforts to preserve and restore these sites. (9) African-American burial grounds are an integral component of the heritage of the United States. (10) Creating and maintaining a network of previously abandoned, underserved,