Slavery Memorial (Providence, Rhode Island)

Slavery Memorial (Providence, Rhode Island)

Subject (Topic)
Brown University
Enslaved persons
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery--Rhode Island
Rhode Island--Providence

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

Located near University Hall, the oldest building on campus and constructed with the labor of enslaved persons, the memorial has two distinct features: a sculpture and a stone plinth. The sculpture consists of a massive ductile cast iron chain, which emerges from a large cast iron dome. The links of the chain are broken and the iron dome, just visible as it emerges out of the earth, recalls the physical restraints of a ball and chain. A stone plinth with engraved text stands next to the sculpture.

Puryear, Martin, 1941-

Photographs by Sally Promey

September 27, 2014

The Slavery and Justice Committee; Brown University Public Art Committee; Brown Corporation

Brown University, 1 Prospect Street, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, United States

JPEG

English

Visual Arts-Sculpture

Manning Hall, 21 Prospect St, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, United States

Inscription on granite column:
This memorial recognizes Brown University’s connection to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the work of Africans and African-Americans, enslaved and free, who helped build our university, Rhode Island, and the nation.

Sculpture: 96 x 96 x 55 in. (243.84 x 243.84 x 149 cm)
Granite column: 43.375 x 39.5 x 30 in. (110.17 x 100.33 x 76.2 cm)

Ductile cast iron; Mirrored stainless steel; Black granite

Wilder, Craig Steven. Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

Simmons, Ruth J. "Slavery and Justice at Brown: A Personal Reflection." In Slavery and the University: Histories and Legacies, eds. Leslie M. Harris, James T. Campbell, and Alfred L. Brophy. University of Georgia Press, 2019.

Ater, Renée. "Tactility, Memory Work, and Martin Puryear's Slavery Memorial." In Slavery and Justice Report with Commentary on Context and Impact, eds. Anthony Bogues, Cass Cliatt, and Alison Levy, 23-32. 2nd edition. Brown University, 2021. https://slaveryandjustice.brown.edu/sites/default/files/reports/BRW321-SlaveryandJustice-10-22-21.pdf.

University of Virginia. "Universities Studying Slavery." President's Commission on Slavery and the University. https://slavery.virginia.edu/universities-studying-slavery/.

Renée Ater

Sculpture

Sculpture: 96 x 96 x 55 in. (243.84 x 243.84 x 149 cm)
Granite column: 43.375 x 39.5 x 30 in. (110.17 x 100.33 x 76.2 cm)