The Historical Event
In 1619 a ship named the São João Bautista sailed from São Paulo de Loanda, the capital of Portuguese Angola, laden with over 350 enslaved Africans bound for Vera Cruz in the colony of New Spain (present day Mexico). As the slave ship crossed the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico, two English privateer ships, White Lion and Treasurer attacked it and seized 60 Africans. The privateers, looking for refuge and supplies, sailed north until reaching Point Comfort in Virginia.
This historical event changed the course of the history: from the early years of the Virginia Colony, to the founding of America and into the future.
Pictured: Massangano Fortress, Cuanza Norte, Angola
What should the Memorial be?
Shortly after Brian Owens was selected as the sculptor for the memorial, the Fort Monroe Authority staff and Brian embarked on a listening tour around a multi-state area. Numerous locations were selected so that people could meet the sculptor and he could hear ideas from the public on what they thought the memorial should encompass.
- Howard University
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia
- Northern Virginia Community College
- College of William and Mary
- Hampton University
- Norfolk State University
- The memorial needs to connect to the story
- Focus on people–it should bring respect to them
- Place the memorial in an interactive space
- Images should propel us into healing
- Depict the enslaved in resistance and their enslavers as brutal
- It is a shared history
- The art should refer back to Africa
- We should see them as strong–heads-up/shoulders back
- Panels should tell a story
- They all had lives before they came to this shore
- Should be an uplifting experience with a sense of hope
- Include the middle passage, the kidnapping of Africans
- Visitors should be shocked by the honesty of the memorial
- When people leave they should be empowered to tell the history
- Reverse the dehumanizing aspect of our current historical narrative
- Use imagery to reinforce they were humans
Four key themes evolved after numerous public sessions and presentations hosted by various organizations such as the African American Association of Museums (AAAM) and initiatives such as the National Park Service Global Shared Heritage project. The desire is that through reflection and contemplation visitors will have the opportunity to make emotional and intellectual connections to the history of the African landing through the exploration of the themes and the memorial:
Truth
This memorial remembers and acknowledges the contributions of Africans in America, often in contrast to what we have traditionally learned in the education system, this team will continually consult the most current and accurate scholarship and engage descendant communities.
Empathy
This memorial provides an opportunity to reflect on the history, stories, and contributions of Africans and their descendants in this new world; through demonstrated examples of survival, resistance, perseverance, and ingenuity.
Respect
This visual representation of the African Landing communicates core values, traditions, cultural retentions, and skills unique to Central Africans and essential in acknowledging the contribution of Africans and their descendants in the making of America in spite of forced migration, forced servitude, and structural oppression.
Hope
This memorial emphasizes 1618 – 1628 through imagery and accompanying interpretive panels serving as a catalyst and essential opportunity for people and communities of all walks of life to explore the lived experiences of first Africans and contemplate how they navigated and made sense of a new world in slavery and in freedom, forging a new identity as African American.
The Result
The Sculpture’s Three Elements:
The sculpted relief, situated on a semi-elliptical surface in a park setting, will be 32’ long and 9’ high and oriented on a direct line of sight to Angola from where the first Africans originated. One side of the relief will capture their debarkation from the White Lion at Point Comfort in August, 1619. The reverse side will have several panels designed to depict the story of the first Africans from their life in Africa, to their capture and subsequent voyage on the middle passage, their exchange for victuals, and the early years in Virginia. The Figures of a mother, father, and their baby, cradled lovingly in their arms representing hope in the future. The Arc reaches towards the sky suggesting hope or vaulting dreams, perhaps calling on the visitor to ponder the meaning of freedom and the cost borne by those who came before us.
The Relief:
The drawing above denotes the debarkation of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia. At the far left the ship White Lion is anchored in the channel near Point Comfort. At the far right supplies are being handed over in exchange for the Africans.
The front side of the Relief shows two parts of the narrative, reading from right to left. In the center is a rupture in the relief wall that reflects the violence of the middle passage. The right side of the panel provides context for understanding where the first Africans came from, specifically the region of West Central Africa.
The panel on the far right shows a scene, with a ngola (ruler) providing guidance to his councilors. Njinga (depicted with a battle ax), the future queen of Ndongo and Matamba, was known to sit with her father during his councils. In the distance the kingdom’s soldiers are depicted.
To the left the panel depicts a village scene. There were seventeen provinces incorporated into over 700 murindas or territories. There are many dwellings shown within the agricultural surroundings. The worship of ancestral spirits permeated everyday life and people practiced various rituals, rich with symbolism and music.
The panel closest to the rupture illustrates the Portuguese and their mercenaries, the Imbangala attacking and capturing villagers for the purpose of enslaving their residents and profiting from their demise. People fought back and resisted which is prominent in this panel.
The rupture in the middle of the sculpture is specifically about the Middle Passage. It shows people being put into the hold of the ship, cramped and side by side, the continents are visible in the lower part, the ship at sea and the landing at Point Comfort.
The left side of the relief depicts the Africans’ presence in the Virginia Colony and emphasizes their contributions, as involuntary as they were, to creating the economic engine that enriches the colony’s elite. There are several smaller scenes in the panels that acknowledge the skills and abilities the Africans brought to North America. Specifically, working with metals, their knowledge of agricultural techniques and quality of crops, and their physical labor.
The panel to the far left shows an African woman and man at the point at which they are transitioning to life in Virginia and the reality that they will more than likely never see the land or the families from which they were so violently taken.
Resources for ReliefThe Figures
The Figures represent all descendants of the African diaspora. They are inspired by the story of Antoney and Isabella, two of the Africans who were brought to Point Comfort in 1619, were purchased by Captain William Tucker, commander at Point Comfort, a shrewd businessman and wealthy landowner. Their story is one of resilience and survival, having survived their abduction, voyage through the Middle Passage, arrival on a foreign land, forced into labor for a colonist, all while withstanding the effects of the 1st and 2nd Powhatan Wars.
Their son, William, is known to be the first documented child of African descent baptized in Virginia. Today, their descendants carry on the legacy.
Click here to learn more about The Figures
The Arc
The Plaza
The architectural firm Baskervill from Richmond, Virginia was selected to design the African Landing Memorial plaza. Working closely with the sculptor and Fort Monroe Authority staff a preliminary design was completed in June 2023.
Description of site:
“The proposed memorial plaza is situated adjacent to the Engineer Wharf entrance and sea wall and will relocate an existing vehicular drop-off and on-street parking that currently occupies the space. The memorial plaza consists of a raised pedestrian crossing / speed table, pedestrian-only plaza, stone site walls, and sculptural elements. The proposed plaza is designed to respond to the sculptural artistic works proposed by Artist Brian Owens, with a shape that is inspired by the Sankofa symbol, meaning “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind,” as a remembrance of the events of the first Africans that arrived in Virginia at Point Comfort, on the shore of present-day Fort Monroe, in 1619.”
Cultural Connections
We know some of the Africans names and that their expertise in agriculture contributed to the survival of the English colonists. The large granite blocks situated throughout the plaza are sourced from quarries near Lubango, Angola, representing individuals brought on the White Lion. The exact number of enslaved Africans brought on the ship is unknown however, a March 1620 Virginia census recorded 17 women and 15 men. When you run your hands across these stones you are touching Angola.
The Memorial’s granite Line to Angola is precisely aligned with the Port of Luanda, Angola. As you stand and cast your eyes towards the water you are creating the connection across the Atlantic between the United States and Angola. The line’s finish reflects the sun and the moon, highlighting the everlasting human spirit to thrive linking people in Africa and North America.
The inlaid pattern in the plaza reflects an Adinkra symbol from Africa–Sankofa. It is a mythical bird which means in Kwi to “go back and get it.” With its feet firmly planted and its head turned backward, the Sankofa shape encourages elders of all ages to reach back, bringing lessons from the past forward to shape a better future for all.
While the trees planted in the plaza are native to Virginia, each species has a similiar counterpart in West Central Africa. Would the Africans arriving on this shore have noticed similarities between Virginia’s Live Oak (Quercus Virginia) and Africa’s Iroko (Milicia Excelsa)? Would the sight of a Black Tupelo (Nyssa Sylvatica) along the Point Comfort dune-line remind them of home and the African Barwood (Pterocarpus Erinaceus)?
