<em>Truths that Rise from the Roots Remembered</em> (Alexandria, VA)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />African American history<br />Alexandria (Va.)--History<br />American South<br />Freedmen--Virginia<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Resistance<br /><br /></p>
<p>Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
<em>Truths that Rise from the Roots Remembered</em> is located in the Alexandria African American Heritage Park, a nine acre memorial park. The park was the site of a historic Black Baptist Cemetery, established in 1885, and later descecrated when the City of Alexandria used the space as a landfill in the early 1960s. Through archaeological excavations, (1985-1992), six headstones were identified and remain in their original location. The park was designed to co-exist with the original landscape of the cemetery and to preserve the wetlands on the site.<br /><br /><em>Truths that Rise from the Roots Remembered</em> includes a group of three stylized bronze trees whose surfaces are etched with names, historical information, and photographs of the African American community in Alexandria; a commemorative grave mound sculpture with limestone supports; and a bronze bookstand. The trees and mound are contained within a circle surrounded by gray flag stone and a semi-circular brick wall. Embedded in the gray flagstone is a red limestone circle, marked with the compass points.
Meadows, Jerome, 1951-
Photographs by Renée Ater
Dedicated: June 17, 1995
EDAW (now AECOM); Norfolk Southern Corporation; Carlyle Development; and The City of Alexandria.
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309 Holland Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314, United States
<em>African-American Monument</em> (Savannah, GA)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />American South<br />Georgia--History<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Savannah (Ga.)--History<br />Slavery<br />Slavery--Emancipation</p>
<p>Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
Sited on the tourist promenade of River Street, the work depicts a black family in contemporary dress. The father, mother, daughter, and son hold one another in a tight embrace as they stand on broken chains. Along the base of the work are engravings of ocean waves and two sets of chained hands.
Spradley, Dorothy, 1946-
Photograph: Wikipedia Commons, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African-American_Monument,_Savannah,_GA,_US.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African-American_Monument,_Savannah,_GA,_US.jpg</a>
Dedicated: July 27, 2002
Abigail Jordan and the African American Monument Association.
Greenscapes Division, Public Works & Water Resources, City of Savannah, 2 East Bay Street, Savannah, Georgia, 31401, United States
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Rousakis Riverfront Plaza, Savannah, Georgia, 31401, United States
<em>Texas African American History Memorial</em> (Austin, TX)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />African American history<br />American South<br />Juneteenth--Texas--Austin<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Slavery--Abolition<br />Slavery--Emancipation<br />Texas--History<br /><br /></p>
<p>Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
<p>The monumental work includes two bronze walls featuring figural scenes celebrating 400 years of African Americans’ contributions to Texas history. Decorated on both front and back, Dwight includes depictions of African Americans engaged in the cattle, cotton, and oil industries as well as tributes to Mickey Leland, Medgar Evers, Buffalo Soldiers, President Barack Obama, and African American Medal of Honor recipients. The two embellished walls meet at a central column. Scores of African American figures, seemingly comprising the base and shaft of the column, gaze outward at the viewer. The top of the column is adorned with two figures standing on a base that reads “Emancipation.” Both figures, one male, one female, have the cuffs of broken shackles and chains around their wrists. The former raises a lit torch over his head, while the latter holds a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. The monument also serves as a memorial to Juneteenth (June 19, 1865), when hundreds of Union troops arrived in Texas and announced the abolition of slavery in the U.S. The memorial sits atop a granite base, which features bronze plaques with didactic text.</p>
Dwight, Ed, 1933-
Photograph: José Pestana, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpestana/31271259748/in/photolist-PDko3Q/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpestana/31271259748/in/photolist-PDko3Q/</a>
Dedicated: November 19, 2019
Texas African American History Memorial Committee; Texas Legislative Black Caucus; and State of Texas.
Capitol Historical Artifact Collection, State Preservation Board, 201 E 14th Street, Suite 950 (Sam Houston State Office Building), Austin, Texas, 78711, United States
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Texas State Capitol Grounds, 100 W 11th St, Austin, Texas, 78701, United States
<em>South Carolina African-American History Monument</em> (Columbia, SC)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />African American history<br />American South<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Slave ships--History<br />Slavery<br />South Carolina--History<br /><br /></p>
<p>Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
Two semicircular gray granite walls, inlaid with twelve bronze panels illustrating 300 years of African American history, frame an obelisk and pedestal. The twelve scenes of African American history include images of the Middle Passage, an African American family on an auction block, slaves working in a field, men and women celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation, the Jim Crow era, the Great Migration, and images of contemporary African Americans’ important contributions to engineering, law education, sports, politics, and space exploration. At the base of the monument’s obelisk are four rubbing stones from regions of Africa where slaves were captured - Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Republic of Congo, and Ghana. In front of the memorial, Dwight included a bronze cast of the famous print of the British slave ship <em>Brookes</em> (1787).
Dwight, Ed, 1933-
Photographs: Ron Cogswell, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/22711505@N05/7917139800/in/album-72157630674378570/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.flickr.com/photos/22711505@N05/7917139800/in/album-72157630674378570/</a>
Dedicated: March 29, 2001
<a href="https://dc.statelibrary.sc.gov/handle/10827/25969" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African American History Monument Commission</a>; South Carolina Arts Commission; State House Committee; Citizens' Advisory Committe; Design Committee; Fundraising Committee; and private donors.
South Carolina State House, 1100 Gervais Street, Columbia, South Carolina, 29201, United States
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South Carolina State House Grounds, 1100 Gervais Street, Columbia, South Carolina, 29201, United States