What the statue of a kneeling enslaved man in the Emancipation Memorial of 1876 tells us about its history − an art historian explains
- Written by Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, Visual Arts, College of the Holy Cross
The striking Emancipation Memorial statue in Washington, D.C., shows Abraham Lincoln standing, while a man wearing only a loincloth is appearing to rise from a kneeling position.
The face in the memorial is that of Archer Alexander, who had escaped slavery in 1863 by fleeing to St. Louis, Missouri. Fundraising for a memorial was launched in 1864...