Memorial to Enslaved Laborers

The Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia began with a student-led effort in 2010 to acknowledge and honor the lives, labor, and resilience of the enslaved people who lived and worked at UVA between 1817 and 1865.

There are three paths: Brick Path -Emancipation Day on March 3rd, 1865, path North lays stones that each represent another year of slavery at UVA. As you follow the third path, the interior granite wall bears the inscriptions of the known and unknown names of an estimated 4000 enslaved persons who worked on grounds. Current research has uncovered under 600 mostly first names of enslaved persons.

The Memorial’s circular form references both the “Ring Shout,” a dance practiced by enslaved African Americans that celebrates spiritual liberation, and a broken shackle. This form represents both the lives oppressed by the violence of bondage, but also lives that bear witness to the perseverance of the human spirit.