Unit 2: Final Project
Design a Memorial / Monument to Slavery and Resistance
“This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories. At some point it is no longer a question of whether we can learn this history but whether we have the collective will to reckon with it. Oppression is never about humanity or lack thereof. It is, and always has been, about power.…How do you tell a story that has been told the wrong way for so long?”
- Clint Smith, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Objectives:
Students will reflect on the heavy content from unit 2 and analyze how art, symbolism, and memorialization can help societies reckon with the history and legacy of slavery in the Americas.
Students will synthesize their historical understanding and emotional reflection to create a monument that truthfully represents enslavement while centering Black resilience, humanity, and resistance.
OVERVIEW
While reflecting on my pilot year experience, I circled the transition from unit 2 to unit 3 as a place I needed to do something different. This content is too powerful to just take a test and move on. I was inspired to create this project by Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed. I have my students watch a short video of Smith being interviewed (linked at the top of the handout). In an effort to scaffold the end of the year presentation, I had my students present their monuments to the class. It was a powerful way to end the unit!
This creative and analytical project invites students to design their own monument or memorial to the history and legacy of slavery in the Americas. Students reflect on the truths of enslavement, reclaim the stories of those who resisted and survived, and design a space that encourages remembrance, understanding, and healing.
Students are challenged to connect their designs directly to Unit 2 themes, such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, African cultural retention, resistance and rebellion, and narratives of the enslaved, and must incorporate two direct quotes or images from class materials. Each monument includes a visual design and an accompanying artist statement explaining the symbolism, location, and emotional or historical purpose of the work.
The project encourages students to wrestle with the same question author Clint Smith poses:
“How do you tell a story that has been told the wrong way for so long?”
The document includes:
Step-by-step directions for research, design, and reflection
Brainstorming prompts to help students connect emotions, readings, and visuals from Unit 2
“Exploring other Monuments” Activity students analyze two required monuments and choose a third of their own to explore
A detailed rubric describing expectations for creativity, depth of reflection, and historical accuracy
Learning from Other Monuments (For Inspiration and to learn what to avoid!)
Before beginning their designs, students complete an analysis of existing monuments to understand how public memory can honor, or distort, history. This portion of the assignment includes guided questions on:
The Ark of Return (United Nations, New York City, 2015)
The Emancipation Memorial (Washington, D.C., 1876)
Students also read Frederick Douglass’s 1876 letter to the editor expressing his critique of the Emancipation Memorial, learning that there is a wrong way to commemorate slavery, one that centers white saviors and distorts the agency of the enslaved. By analyzing both effective and problematic monuments, students develop a clear sense of how to approach their own work with integrity and care.
Finally, each student selects and analyzes one additional monument or memorial related to slavery, freedom, or resistance to broaden their perspective.
* Since we are in Michigan, I also have my students explore the monument to the Underground Railroad on the Detroit River. I strongly suggest choosing a local monument in your review, analysis, and reflection for the project!