Emancipation

The commemorative works under the theme of "Emancipation" include two different types of monuments and memorials: those focused on the end of slavery in the United States through the Emancipation Proclamation, and memorials to emancipation and liberation movements in the Caribbean. The forms of the monuments and memorials range from figurative sculpture such as Redemption Song in Kingston, Jamaica; a series of gateways at the Camp Barker Memorial located at Garrison Elementary School in Washington, DC; and the abstract forms of L'Arbre de la liberté in Schoelcher, Martinique. Thomas Ball's Freedmen's Memorial to Abraham Lincoln (1876) as well as Meta Warrick Fuller's Emancipation (1913) are also included here as they represent early sculptural engagements with the theme in the United States.

In the near future, we will add more commemorative works from the Caribbean to this theme including public art in Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Sint Maarten.

Updated January 26, 2026