In order for us to continue to move forward in striving for equity and striving for change,
we have to be able to talk about our past, in a way that's really meaningful. And the
Memorial I think is a beautiful first step in starting that conversation. It's intended
to be a space for reflection and healing, it's a space of truth-telling. We want folks
to bring classes here, we want folks to engage in that way. Slavery wasn't an experience
that by any means should just be something in our past that we say happened and we can't
talk about it. We should help folks heal past that trauma and past the brutality of it.
The first thing design wise that greets you when you come in the Memorial is this broken
shackle image. It represents this freedom from physical bondage. There's the path towards
the North Star and that was the path towards freedom. And then a second path that kind
of aligns with the sunset on March 3, which is Liberation and Freedom Day. It is 80 feet
which matches the diameter of the Rotunda taking up that space that is so rightly deserved
in honoring this legacy. There is the timeline of events that happened all the way through
Isabella Gibbons death. Isabella Gibbons was a member of the enslaved community and she
really took it upon herself to encourage reflection and encourage moving the needle towards equity
and equality and so her eyes are on the back of the Memorial. I would encourage everyone
if they can, come witness it in person, feel the stone, see the timeline, be here and be
present and take a second to reflect, honor, and encourage folks to move forward with that
history.