Emancipation and Freedom Monument

Emancipation and Freedom Monument
Emancipation and Freedom Monument Location in Virginia Show map of Virginia Emancipation and Freedom Monument Location in United States Show map of the United States
Artist	Thomas Jay Warren[1]
Completion date	2021 (2021)
Medium	Bronze statues
Subject	Emancipation
Dimensions	12 feet (3.7 m) (height)
Location	Brown's Island, Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates	37.5344°N 77.4439°W / 37.5344; -77.4439

The Emancipation and Freedom Monument on Brown's Island, Richmond, Virginia, is a public statue installed on September 22, 2021.[2] The monument includes two 12-foot (3.7 m) bronze statues of an emancipated man and woman with an infant.[3] The woman is holding a piece of paper with the date January 1, 1863 which corresponds with the day U.S. president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.[4]

The monument was designed by Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren.[2] Virginia senator Jennifer McClellan led the commissioning of the statue. According to McClellan, "it's the first state-funded statue celebrating emancipation in the U.S."[2]

Composition

The pedestal features the names, photos, and stories of ten Virginians who participated involved both before and after emancipation.[4]

Pre-emancipation

• Mary Bowser, former enslaved Union spy during the Civil War[4]
• William Harvey Carney, soldier and formerly enslaved[4]
• Gabriel, enslaved blacksmith and rebellion leader[4]
• Dred Scott, enslaved man and plaintiff of Dred Scott v. Sandford[4]
• Nat Turner, enslaved preacher and rebellion leader[4]

Post-emancipation

• Rosa Dixon Bowser, educator and women's rights activist[4]
• John Mercer Langston, politician and academic administrator[4]
• John Mitchell Jr., community activist, newspaper editor, and political candidate[4]
• Lucy F. Simms, educator[4]
• Wyatt Tee Walker, civil rights activist and reverend[4]

Gallery

• 
  view 1
• 
  view 2
• 
  Emancipation and Freedom Monument Pedestal 01
• 
  Emancipation and Freedom Monument Pedestal 02
• 
  Emancipation and Freedom Monument Pedestal 03

See also

• List of monuments to African Americans

References

1. "Virginia's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission".
2. Shivaram, Deepa (September 22, 2021). "An Emancipation Statue Debuts In Virginia Two Weeks After Robert E. Lee Was Removed". NPR. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
3. "Emancipation monument unveiled in Richmond, Virginia". PBS NewsHour. 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
4. Coleburn, Caroline; Thompson, Cameron (2021-09-22). "Emancipation and Freedom Monument unveiled on Brown's Island in Richmond". WTVR. Retrieved 2021-09-22.

External links

• "Official Website: Emancipation and Freedom Monument". Virginia's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission.