While Valentine’s Day is obviously a highlight of the four weeks of February, Black History Month is a month-long holiday to celebrate. Black History Month highlights influential black leaders, innovators, athletes and even artists. While the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triumph and Statue of Liberty are all world-famous tourist attractions, some lesser-known art around the world is equally breathtaking and significant. Here is a small list of beautiful sculptures around the world that pay homage to black people.
Name: Monument De La Renaissance Africaine or The African Renaissance Monument
Artist: Pierre Goudiaby
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Description: This 160-foot bronze statue is mounted on the hilltops of Dakar, Senegal completed on April 4, 2010. It depicts a man, woman and child emerging from a volcano. This monument, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty, symbolizes Africa’s freedom from centuries of imprisonment.
Name: Viccisitudes
Artist: Jason deCaires Taylor
Location: Moilinere Bay in Grenada
Description: This underwater piece features a ring of life-sized sculptures of children holding hands. There’s been much speculation on the reason why this breathtaking sculpture was created. Some say it’s to pay homage to the thousands of slaves who were forced to jump overboard while traveling through the Middle Passage from Africa to America. Others say it’s a representation of local children taking on the characteristics of their environment because of its designation as an artificial reef. Whatever the reason may be, there’s no denying that this underwater sculpture is one of a kind.
Name: La Statue de la Libération de l’Esclavage or the Statue of the Liberation from Slavery
Artist: Unknown
Location: Île de Gorée in Senegal
Description: Located outside the House of Slaves, this monument shows a man and woman who have been freed from their shackles standing atop an African drum. The plaque beside it shows that it was a gift sent from a group of islands called Guadeloupe in the West Indies to Africa. The drum and its rhythm symbolize communication and understanding.
Name: Negre Marron
Artist: Albert Mangones
Location: Port-au-Prince in Haiti
Description: The Negre Marron statue symbolizes the abolition of slavery in Haiti. The statue depicts a man with a broken chain around his ankle, which symbolizes the ending of slavery, a machete in his right hand, which symbolizes him defending of his country, and a conch shell to his lips, which served as a trumpet rallying slaves for battle.
Name: Spirit of Freedom
Artist: Ed Hamilton
Location: Washington, D.C.
Description: The Spirit of Freedom bears the text “Civil war to Civil rights and beyond,” and the sculpture depicts just that. This sculpture is a memorial dedicated to all African Americans who bravely served in the Civil War. The 209,145 names inscribed on this monument proudly commemorate those who fought for freedom.
Name: Lady Liberty
Artist: Theodore Bonev
Location: Saint Martin
There are many myths floating around the Internet claiming that this statue is the original Statue of Liberty, and the truth is still unclear. What is clear about this statue is that it represents the emancipation of freed slaves. What the two statues do have in common is the universal message of freedom.
