Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial (Dallas, Texas)

Subject (Topic)
African Americans--Texas--Dallas--History
American South
Cemeteries--Texas
Freedmen--Texas
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery--United States
Texas--History

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

The memorial is located in the Freedman Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1861, it is one of the largest Freedman's cemeteries in the country. A Texas Red granite archway marks the entrance to the memorial. Two niches, located on either side of the arch, are adorned with life-size bronze figures (one in each niche). The free-standing figure on the left of the entrance, the so-called “Sentinel” or “Warrior,” is dressed in clothes inspired by the Benin culture of West Africa. He holds a large ceremonial machete with its blade pointed to the ground. His female counterpart, the “Prophetess,” holds a small harp to her chest with her left hand. On the other side of the arch within the memorial garden, two bronze figures occupy the niches. Unlike the free-standing works at the front of the archway, these works are bronze bas-reliefs. The figures emerge emerge from a background that suggests the waves of an ocean. The female figure, the “Violated Soul,” whose wrists and feet are bound by iron mancles, covers her face with her hands. Her male counterpart, the “Struggling Soul,” is similarly shown with his wrists and feet bound by iron manacles; he covers his own scream with his bent left arm. Above each of the life-size bronze figures, in the top register of the arch, are twelve smaller bronze sculptures, suggestive of West African wood sculpture.

Through the archway at the center of the memorial park, “Dream of Freedom,” sits atop a Texas Red granite circular plinth. The sculpture shows a newly emancipated couple. The male figure, whose shirtless torso is scarred by whip marks on his back, wraps his left arm around a kneeling woman. Directly behind “Dream of Freedom,” is a polished granite slab with Nia Akimbo’s poem, “Here.” Two remaining headstones from the original cemetery are embedded in the back of this granite slab.

At the base of each statue, bronze plaques list the artist, title of the sculpture, and description of the work. Embedded in the interior arched wall are bronze plaques with poetry by ten children from local schools, who won a local poetry contest. In the lawn, several Texas Red granite blocks have bronze plaques attached to them, identifying the original river bed and unmarked graves.