A leader of the group, aAliy Muhammad, who serves as a member of the museum’s community advisory committee, has accused Penn of trying to improperly exert power and control over the process of return.

Last year, Muhammad challenged the museum’s plan to bury the remains, but a judge ruled the descendent group did not have legal standing to make that challenge.

Rev. Jamie Eaddy-Chism told those assembled on Saturday that though the names and stories of the deceased are not known, “we know them, they are our great grandmothers and grandfathers, they are ones who whisper in our ear that liberation is possible when we feel like we are chained.”

After the interfaith commemoration service, a blessing ceremony was held at Eden Cemetery, where the remains of 19 people identified as having been residents of Philadelphia were interred.

University of Pennsylvania Provost John Jackson said the commemoration service served as a public recognition that silence is complicity.

“We must not only recognize the mistakes of the past, but speak out and take corrective action to move forward,” he said.

Jackson said in this country, large, old institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, often have complicated histories.

“The remains of these people, human beings, our brothers and sisters, dehumanized, should have never been on display,” he said. “On behalf of the entire university, please accept my most sincere regrets and my deepest apologies.”

“As we continue to examine and learn from our complex and sordid history, we will endeavor to do all we can to address the wrongs of this past,” Jackson said.