Description
- Abstract:
- 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 US. The memorial sits atop a granite base, which features bronze plaques with didactic text.
- Notes:
- Texas African-American History Memorial (Austin, Texas), Brown University Library
- Digital object made available by: Brown University Library, Center for Digital Scholarship, Box A, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, U.S.A., (http://library.brown.edu/)
Access Conditions
- Rights
- CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
- Restrictions on Use
- Collection is open for research.
Citation
Pestana, José (Flickr),
"Texas African-American History Memorial (Austin, Texas)"
(2019).
African American History.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:baxzyk9u/
Relations
Collection:
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African American History
...The monuments and memorials grouped under this theme acknowledge the important contributions of African Americans to American history. Slavery is anchored in the commemorative works as part of the larger story of Black existence in the United States. Some monuments, …