Denizen refers to someone, or in this case, something, that inhabits a particular place with no necessary or predisposed relation to its context; it is not indigenous to its place, yet frequents it. The memorial(s) proposed act as vessels of remembrance, propagating a dialogue and education of slavery through the creation of a national symbol that is both easily understood and recognized. Memory is preserved and triggered as each memorial is transposed upon landscapes and contexts of every kind; as each memorial frequents a different place, igniting thought and directing conversation. The underlying position of this manifesto, and the driving concept behind this memorial, is that although American slavery was for the most part confined to the southern states, it is a burden that the entire country must bear. The successes of the country would not, and could not, have been possible without the sacrifices of so many African Americans in the south – sacrifices that must be remembered in all four corners of the country, not just one. The heavy burden borne by slaves in the south allowed Americans in all States to live a little lighter. Denizen attempts to address this notion by introducing symbols of slavery into contexts not limited by the geography of enslavement. As the physical act of enslaving is most literally experienced at a personal, individual level, the anguish and emotional and physical experiences can never be recreated, nor should they. A memorial to slavery in America must act not as a literal recreation of conditions or emotions, but rather as a reminder that educates of a former condition; expressive of feelings of a remote past. A memorial must not give absolution, but must rather educate and promote discourse to all Americans, if not all citizens of the world; as unfortunately, slavery is a concept still too familiar to many around the world. By proposing a memorial made of many individual pieces, independent of site and immediate context, this memorial to slavery, Denizen, may speak for all the victims and their predecessors, for all the perpetrators, and for all of those who must be reminded of the unnecessary sacrifices that were made so that life may exist as it does now. The absence of a national memorial to commemorate slavery has been addressed by a proposal that engages the local, yet remains truly national. The resulting design of each individual marker attempts to manifest issues of heritage, demonstration, memory, symbology, and meaning, while promoting a discourse on slavery and race relations. The four pillars represent four important issues and groups of people that are inherently bound together: the historically documented use of slavery in America, the active existence of slavery in other parts of the world, modern day race relations whose roots have inevitably been shaped through America’s close history with slavery, and ‘free men’ – both those who have escaped slavery as well as those who have never experienced it. The fourth pillar, ‘free men’, is essential to any dialogue dealing with slavery and race relations; it emphasizes that people of all backgrounds, all races, all beliefs, are all bound together in not only the act of remembering and educating, but in the pursuit towards a slave-free world, a pursuit towards the eventual global abolition of slavery. Never experiencing slavery does not exclude one from being a part of the problem or part of the solution. The metallic banding that binds the four pillars together draws from not only literal interpretations of being ‘enslaved’ or ‘bound’, but from the material itself: slavery is a concept conceived by man to control the natural, and similarly in its usage here, metal that has been processed and refined by man has been used to bind the natural stone pillars borne from this earth. It scars the broken rock, leaving its imprints in not only the pillar’s surfaces (or their skins), but in the country’s history. Although the physical impressions on the beacons are repeated, the scars on each beacon are independent, are individual, are different. In much the same way as each individual person, county, state, or country has experienced slavery differently, so will each person remember and learn of slavery differently. Although unique to each other, they maintain the same language and form; becoming symbols inherent of a specific meaning. As symbols and through education, this meaning, this memory, is experienced at all levels, in any location. The idea and memory may not be indigenous to its place, but there it stands – to engage, to preserve, to educate, and to remind of grievances that have, and still do occur. The education and dialogue that will emerge from a national memorial to slavery, is as important as preserving the memory of events and conditions that transpired under slavery. As a repetitive symbol, as a beacon, we become connected in its understanding, and the act of remembering through the memorial becomes public as much as it does personal. Emphasized is the importance of both individualism and diversity, of differences and equality, and of collective remembrance and collective pursuits. We may all dream, grieve, hope, and learn as individuals, yet it is together in numbers that we have a voice large enough to conquer the evils that plague us. As long as we all inhabit this home we call earth, we are all bound together in pursuit of a global freedom. Denizen is a constant reminder to us of struggles and sacrifices, both present and past – it is a memorial about place, without place, in any place. A memorial to slavery must not be a memorial to a slave, or a state, or a history, but of a country, of a planet, and of a future free of racism and oppression.