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African American Monument
Elmer Brown Freedom Park
21725 Tulagi Pl, Lexington Park, MD 20653
The African American Monument at Elmer Brown Freedom Park celebrates the accomplishments of local African Americans. The monument is a pyramid of natural stone that it is surrounded by six pedestals with bronze plaques.
The Pyramid -- The pyramid represents one of the oldest architectural structures built of stone and mortar. The four- sided base of this edifice symbolizes creativity, survival, strength and multicultural participation in the building of community in St. Mary’s County. This foundation reminds us that we stand on the backs and shoulders of the many who came before us.
The Natural Stone -- The rough simplicity of native natural stone symbolizes the efforts of the many African Americans who have made contributions to St. Mary’s County. The stones in all sizes and shapes represent the diverse accomplishments of all people in the African American community … rich and poor, known and unknown.
The Eternal Flame -- The finial of the monument depicts an eternal flame that symbolizes the constant eternal presence of our fore-parents and our eternal gratefulness to them as we pass the torch to future generations.
On November 29, 1994, the Committee presented a proposal to the St. Mary's County Commissioners: To erect a monument dedicated to African Americans. The commissioners agreed to placing the monument along Tulagi Place in an area they planned to build a bus stop and commuter parking lot. On July 29, 2000, UCAC's founders realized their dream with the unveiling and dedication of the monument.The dream was first conceived in the fall of 1994: To give recognition and respect to African-Americans and their contributions to the county, including those who came before us and those who are currently part of our community.
It took several meetings before UCAC members agreed as to what kind of materials might be used and what shape the monument should be. It was decided that the monument would be in the shape of an Egyptian pyramid, because Egypt is an African country, the Egyptians built pyramids, and the pyramid represents strength and endurance.
After deciding the shape of the monument, one question still remained. What should they build it out of?
Inspired by a hymn, Rough Side of the Mountain, it was decided that rough stone would make up the monument. Says Mr. Brown, "The stones and the shape of the monument represent the difficult struggle of Blacks climbing the rough side of mountain to get to the other side."
The stones for the monument had to be 4" or 5" in diameter. Members of the committee went to many sand pits and gathered stones in 5-gallon buckets. They'd carry them to the site in Freedom Park where the monument was to be built.
Spencer Scriber was assigned as the construction foreman, but it with much help that the monument was born. This was accomplished by many people: Elmer J. Brown, Richard Holly, Calvin Green, Tony Porter, Bob Lewis, Spencer Scriber, Joseph Stover, Philip Scriber, Melvin Endy, and many others.
The Plaques
The monument is surrounded by six pedestals with bronze plaques inviting you into the monument to read and reflect on the monumental contributions of African Americans to the county.
The Brick Walkway
"Building History One Brick at a Time," The Enterprise, 21 April 2004, sec. A, p. 2. It is a tall structure in the middle of bright green grass at the corner of Tulagi Place and Route 235. Physically, it is nothing but stone and mortar surrounded by paths of bricks. But to hundreds of people in St. Mary's, it is a symbol of the contribution that African-Americans have made to the progress of the region.
And now just about anyone can own a little piece of it.
The Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions is selling bricks that will be inscribed and placed into one of the paths that surround the monument. The bricks are $50 each. You can have up to 15 characters on each of up to three lines.
"The bricks are an opportunity for those persons to say thank you to ... the people who paved the way for them," according to Elmer Brown.
