An official U.S. government website 
- By Bsrat Mezghebe
- February 17, 2021
Exploring Washington’s Memorials to African Americans
Black history is not just the history of African Americans, but the history of the United States as a whole. This Black History Month, we’re highlighting commemorative works that celebrate the accomplishments of lesser-known figures and groups that left an indelible mark on this nation and its capital.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson: “Father of Black History”
As a historian and educator, Dr. Carter G. Woodson worked tirelessly in the first half of the 20th century to increase awareness of the lives and history of African Americans and their profound impact on America. He has been called the “Father of Black History” because he founded the Association of the Study of African American Life and History, The Journal of Negro History, and Negro History Week, the precursor of Black History Month. Dr. Woodson overcame an impoverished childhood working in the coal mines of West Virginia to earn his Ph.D. from Harvard University, making him the second African American and the first person born to enslaved parents to receive such a degree from the institution.
Truth comes to us from the past, then like gold washed down from the mountains.
Mary McLeod Bethune: “First Lady of the Struggle”
A peer of Dr. Woodson’s, Mary McLeod Bethune was an acclaimed educator, stateswoman, suffragist, and civil rights leader. She founded and led several organizations dedicated to improving the lives of Black women and their communities, including the National Council for Negro Women and National Association for Colored Women. Ms. Bethune was a national advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as the sole African American woman in the U.S. delegation that created the United Nations Charter. A staunch advocate for education, she founded a school for girls, served as president of Bethune-Cookman College, and co-founded the United Negro College Fund.
The Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial, located in Capitol Hill’s Lincoln Park in Southeast Washington, was the first memorial to an African American built on public land in Washington, DC and the first portrait statue of an American woman on a public site in the city. The 17-foot bronze statue depicts Ms. Bethune handing a scroll to two children and was sculpted by Robert Berks, whose signature styling can be seen in the bust of President Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and in the Albert Einstein Memorial Statue on Constitution Avenue, NW. The inscription is as follows:
I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you a responsibility to our young people.
African American Civil War Memorial: “The Spirit of Freedom”
Over 200,000 members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, helping to defend the Union and free more than four million slaves. By the war’s end, USCT regiments made up 10 percent of the Union Army. Many fought with distinction, with 16 soldiers receiving the Medal of Honor and many others receiving honors, and their casualties were higher than that of white Union troops. 
The African American Civil War Memorial (The Spirit of Freedom), located at the heart of the historic U Street District in Washington, DC, honors the service and sacrifice of the USCT, along with white and Hispanic soldiers who were a part of its units and 20,000 Navy sailors. The memorial sculpture portrays uniformed soldiers and a sailor at a height of ten feet with a family depicted on the back of the sculpture. It’s situated in the center of a granite-paved plaza, encircled on three sides by a Wall of Honor that lists the names of the 209,145 USCT arranged by regiment on 166 burnished stainless steel plaques.
Explore NCPC’s Commemoration webpage to learn more and to access an interactive map of commemorative works in the nation’s capital.
Commemoration Webpage
