UN monument to honor the victims of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

To recognize "the bravery of those slaves, abolitionists and unsung heroes who managed to rise up against an oppressive system, fight for their freedom and end the practice" of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and slavery itself, the United Nations will construct a monument at its Headquarters in New York.  The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched a design competition for the memorial two years ago and after culling through 310 designs from 83 countries, a committee of five international judges selected "The Ark of Return," a design by Manhattan-based architect Rodney Leon.

In the words of the architect, the monument will be  “symbolic spiritual space and object where one can interact and pass through for acknowledgement, contemplation, meditation, reflection, healing, education and transformation."

Michael Gomez, a judge in the competition and professor of History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, commented that “I was interested in finding a project that would in some way give expression to that experience, and would allow those who would visit the memorial to have a good sense of what that experience was about and its ongoing implication for various societies.” His comment reminds us all that slavery still exists today through human trafficking and that we must continue the effort to bring justice and equality to all.

To learn more about the UN's monument to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, be sure to read:

‘Ark of Return’: Telling the stories of 15 million slaves in a UN permanent memorial and The Ark of Return.