Brief Summary: Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial

Brianna Velasquez
U.S. History ll Since 1876
Peter Hacker
4/14/2014
Freedmen’s Cemetery Memorial
One thing I have to say about this particular memorial is that it’s far more emotionally involving. The Freedman’s Memorial is architecturally classic and emotionally wrenching. It does what a true memorial is supposed to do: it makes you feel the pain and sacrifice of the people it memorializes. The Freedman’s Memorial is a mixture of park and sculpture garden. A wrought-iron fence surrounds most of the small park, which is planted in spreading pecan trees.
The centerpiece of the memorial is the small contemplation area on the south side of the park; this is where the main entrance is located. The entry arch and adjoining walls, along with the
It shows a man sitting on a stump, with whip marks visible on his back; beside him crouches a woman, embracing him. They’re both in 19th century clothing, indicating that they represent the freed blacks (freedmen, as they were called) of the post-Civil War era. Their attitude is more sorrowful than hopeful, considering what they’ve been through and how they’ll be treated in the future; but at least they can call themselves free. David Newton, a classically trained sculptor in the European tradition, has dedicated his career to transforming ordinary African American people and forgotten historical moments into unforgettable, timeless monuments of beauty. From this point, many of their descendants managed to claw their way up from destitution, despite the discrimination they had to face in both North and South, to make something of themselves. You don’t have to be African-American to feel the impact (I know because I’m not). I then found myself reading several poems on plaques around the monument. One of the poems that I saw, read “I leaped in the air, and shouted HALLELUJUAH. Because I Was Free.” (Tambre Kincade 1995). The City of Dallas has done itself proud here. The memorial was stunning and well maintained with so much to look at. Freedmen’s cemetery was very interesting because it was so simple but yet had so much meaning behind everything you viewed. The
Freedman’s cemetery belonged to a community of former slaves established in this area after the Civil War. Adjoining cemeteries at the same location, off Central Expressway at Lemmon Avenue, which also have historical significance, include that of Temple Emanu-El, which represents the earliest Jewish settlers in Dallas and dates a few years later than Freedman’s Cemetery. Freedman 's Cemetery, a graveyard for African Americans, was established in 1869 on one acre of land purchased by trustee Sam Eakins. Another 3 acres was acquired for cemetery purposes in 1879 by trustees. A. Wilhite, Frank Read, A. Boyd, T. Watson, George English, Silas Pitman, and the Rev. A. R. Griggs, a former slave who later became a local church leader and champion of early public education for the African American community. The community of churches, commercial enterprises, and residences that had developed in this area by the turn of the 20th century was by 1912 a part of the City of