ABOUT THE FREEDOM MONUMENT

A Statewide, Public Process

The North Carolina Freedom Monument Project (NCFMP) is sponsoring an open public process to conceive, finance, and create a substantial shared work of public art, to be placed at a prominent location in the capital city of Raleigh. The purpose of this project is fourfold:

• to create and strengthen bonds between diverse people;

• to educate and enhance mutual understanding;

• to honor the African-American experience in North Carolina; and,

• to serve as a model of cooperation, respect, and common values.

Why Build Another Monument?

Thousands of visitors, including more than 130,000 K-12 students (largely fourth and eighth graders), tour the capital area each year. They absorb the many icons of our state's history, including a Confederate and white-supremacist past, but they do not see a forthright public treatment of the past eras of slavery and Jim Crow, or public recognition of both the struggles of the past and promises of the future for freedom, equality and justice. Sadly, North Carolinians of different racial backgrounds still suffer from too little dialogue on issues of history, citizenship, and respect, and we have too few opportunities to work together to heal lingering wounds from the past.

When this project is completed, there will be a public place in the center of our capital city where African American children can see the historical experience of their forebears honored and remembered, and where North Carolinians of all ages and all shades of color can see the fruits of their shared effort to consecrate their shared citizenship. Thousands of North Carolinians will have played a role in conceiving it and making the monument a reality. We will truly be able to say that the public spaces in our capital city belong to us all.

Creating Curriculum Resources

In working toward the goal of enhancing mutual understanding, the NCFMP also assembled a multi-ethnic and geographically diverse team of teachers to create classroom materials for students studying North Carolina history. These resources, developed with eighth graders in mind, but easily adaptable to younger and older students, are available only on this website. Called The African American Experience in North Carolina, these materials have been designed to provide teachers and students with an opportunity to focus on the varied roles and contributions of African Americans in North Carolina throughout the state's history. The African American Experience in North Carolina will continue to be a valuable classroom tool long after the public artwork is completed in Raleigh.

An Ongoing Educational Dialogue

In June 2002, a diverse group of scholars, teachers and community leaders from across the state met in Raleigh to begin to address some of the difficult conceptual and organizational issues that this project raises. Following that meeting, project leaders from different regions convened public community meetings at multiple locations across the state. In June 2003, teachers, scholars, and community leaders met at a statewide meeting in the capital area to identify the areas where this public process has led to consensus — and where it has not.

As an introduction to the NCFMP, the town meeting format offers significant potential for involving students and teachers across grade levels in the discussion of the historic and present contributions of African Americans to our state. Using the materials provided here, teachers can recreate the community meeting and dialogue process of the NCFMP in their own classrooms.

The process used in the NCFMP Town Meetings also gives students a model for addressing sensitive subjects with respect, and involves them as student citizens in the public process. The classroom discussion will not be simply an academic exercise, but an integral part of the public dialogue. We encourage teachers and students to send the NCFMP its class reports to become part of the overall project documentation.

From Family History to Community History to State Identity

Coming together in communities and in schools to talk about our own diverse family histories and the deeper meaning of our shared history as North Carolinians is as valuable as constructing the monument itself. The process can have particular impact for school children in advance of a visit to the state capital — offering them a rich resource with which to explore the issues surrounding our collective histories in this state and the various ways we represent and memorialize our past. We urge that these discussions not only focus on the African American experience but that teachers challenge students from other backgrounds to consider the contributions and struggles of their ancestors both within and beyond North Carolina. Connecting family history to community history to state identity is a valuable process for us all as we explore our roots. Ultimately we hope to enrich all North Carolinians' awareness of the multiple peoples who have made and continue to make our state a distinctive place.