From Bondage to Freedom The treatment of slaves in America’s early history resulted in a dark era on which many people do not like to focus; however, this cruel and unjust treatment of slaves did take place and it is only appropriate to establish a memorial that commemorates their perseverance. This memorial attempts to symbolically reproduce the journey from freedom to bondage so that one might imagine the persecution slaves endured. Three segments of the memorial represent different aspects of their journey. A visitor may only access the memorial from a crowded ferry that symbolizes the cramped boat upon which slaves crossed the ocean. They did not know what to expect and likewise, visitors cannot discern what lies ahead. A bare white marble wall with a large slab in front of it confronts visitors as they approach. This symbolizes an auction block surrounded by white supremacists, so visitors can imagine the feeling of being treated as objects and sold into slavery. Unfinished black granite compliments the polished white marble on its opposite face and metaphorically illustrates the unbalanced separation of races. This quite apparent contrast represents the extreme division of whites and blacks at that point. The next stage of the memorial attempts to represent mindset of slaves as they were sold into slavery. A maze of interconnecting paths gives a sense of the futility of freedom felt by slaves. Once in this maze, people have to progress along and endure the journey the way slaves did. Nothing really indicated that an end to the hardships of slavery would come and likewise, the path offers a sense of hopelessness to an end. Six-foot high walls make up the concrete walls that define a path through the maze. This allows a person to see one high wall in the distance with the quote by Abraham Lincoln, “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free, honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve.” This gives one hope to keep pushing the way slaves clung to the hope that one day they might be free. The path finally weaves its way toward this hard-fought path to freedom. A narrow opening leads down a stair to a narrow underground tunnel. The narrowness of this tunnel symbolically represents the suppression of slaves and their desire to escape via the Underground Railroad. High bare concrete walls curve around to conceal the destination of the path as one progresses along it. This introduces a feeling of compression on the individual. A small, chained opening along one side allows a dim light to illuminate the shadowy space. Inscribed into the adjacent are wall hundreds of quotes, stories, and other texts about runaway slaves, highlighted by the faded light opposing the texts. A bright contrast to the dark space draws one toward the end of the tunnel. The emergence up a staircase into the bright daylight forces a feeling of freedom on the individual. The final path aligns with the Lincoln Memorial so that as people emerge, they associate Lincoln with the freedom of slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation. This new horizon gives a person hope for equality in the future.