Historic Monuments and Statues
AFRICAN AMERICAN MONUMENT
AFRICAN AMERICAN MONUMENT
AFRICAN AMERICAN MONUMENT
Located at: Freedom Park
1744 S. Coral Place Lexington Park, MD 20653
Park hours are every day, sunrise to sunset.
Pictured left to right: Richard Holly, Phillip Scriber, Elmer Brown, Joe Bryant, Ben Simmons, and Spencer Scriber
AFRICAN AMERICAN MONUMENT
AFRICAN AMERICAN MONUMENT
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 will be $50 each for up to 18 characters, and then 50 cents for each additional character. The bricks will be a part of a Juneteenth celebration and should be ordered by April 30.
Elmer Brown is on the monument committee and said that he hopes that by buying bricks, people will feel a connection with the meaning of the monument.
"It gives Afro-Americans an opportunity to have something they can have ownership of," Brown said. "Somewhere or something that they could point to to say 'this represents me,' and it's all for the benefit of the county in general."
Brown said he has often driven by the monument and seen people sitting and reading books or looking at the plaques. "
Sometimes they just go to it and touch it," he said. "They can feel the importance of it.
"The bricks are an opportunity for those persons to say thank you to ... the people who paved the way for them."
And for those who are not African American, Brown said they can also appreciate the importance of the monument.
"It gives them a feeling of partnership. They also feel a contribution to something important -- freedom."
These bricks, placed on the walkway surrounding and leading to the monument, serve as a permanent acknowledgement of the importance of African-American contributions to St. Mary's County.
UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS (USCT) CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL
During the Civil War 180,000 African Americans comprising 170 regiments served in the Union Army and 29,511 served in the Union Navy. Army regiments composed of black soldiers were known as the United States Colored Troops (USCT). Many of the men who served as USCT were slaves prior to volunteering for the Union Army. In St. Mary's County during the 1800s there were more than 6,500 slaves and over 700 were recruited as USCT. The monument will honor the United States Colored Troops and all Union soldiers and sailors from St. Mary’s County who fought during the Civil War.
It pays special tribute to USCT soldiers, Pvt. William H. Barnes and Sgt. James H. Harris who earned the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of New Market Heights, Va., in September 1864. Joseph B. Hayden of St. Mary’s County, a white Civil War sailor in the United States Navy, earned the Medal of Honor for his bravery on board the U.S.S. Ticonderoga, during attacks on Fort Fisher, 13 to 15 January 1865.