African American History Monument, State Capitol Grounds, Columbia, SC

This monument was commissioned by the state of South Carolina. It depicts the history of African Americans from the 1619 Slave Auction Blocks in Charleston, to present day South Carolina. Its central feature is a map of the "Middle Passage'" where roughly forty percent of the slaves from Africa went directly into Charleston Harbor. The entry features four "Rubbing Stones" from the four main coastal areas of Africa: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and the Congo.

Circular granite elements rise on either side of the 22’ high obelisk and contain twelve bronze panels that present a chronological history of the African American experience.  Starting with the auction block, to slave labor, the Civil War, emancipation, reconstruction and to the emergence of African Americans as astronauts, judges, legislators, Civil Rights leaders, great athletes, business people and political leaders.