Brief Summary: Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial

Brianna Velasquez
U.S. History ll Since 1876
Peter Hacker
4/14/2014
Freedmen’s Cemetery Memorial
One thing I have to say about this particular memorial is that it’s far more emotionally involving. The Freedman’s Memorial is architecturally classic and emotionally wrenching. It does what a true memorial is supposed to do: it makes you feel the pain and sacrifice of the people it memorializes. The Freedman’s Memorial is a mixture of park and sculpture garden. A wrought-iron fence surrounds most of the small park, which is planted in spreading pecan trees.
The centerpiece of the memorial is the small contemplation area on the south side of the park; this is where the main entrance is located. The entry arch and adjoining walls, along with the
facing of the benches and planting areas, are constructed of polished red granite probably that famous central Texas type known as Texas Red, which is mined near Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock. Bronze plaques on the inside walls of the Memorial display the text of short poems written specifically for the memorial. But while all this is beautiful, the real draw is the incredible statues crafted by artist David Newton. Not only are there five larger-than-life statues in the park, mostly associated with the entry arch, there are a dozen smaller African totem-type statues inset in niches at the top of the arch, six on either side. All 17 of the statues appear to be constructed of dark bronze.
On the east side of the entryway, as you go in, are two statues on pedestals, either life-sized or better. The one on the left is of a heroically-muscled African warrior, complete with a wicked-looking sword; the one on the right is a female storyteller or prophetess. On the other side of the 20-foot granite arch leading visitors into Freedman 's Cemetery are high-relief images of a black man and woman in chains, their faces covered a symbolic reminder that slaves lost their personal identities.
The final David Newton statue is in the center of the contemplation area, in the middle of a circular walkway.
It shows a man sitting on a stump, with whip marks visible on his back; beside him crouches a woman, embracing him. They’re both in 19th century clothing, indicating that they represent the freed blacks (freedmen, as they were called) of the post-Civil War era. Their attitude is more sorrowful than hopeful, considering what they’ve been through and how they’ll be treated in the future; but at least they can call themselves free. David Newton, a classically trained sculptor in the European tradition, has dedicated his career to transforming ordinary African American people and forgotten historical moments into unforgettable, timeless monuments of beauty. From this point, many of their descendants managed to claw their way up from destitution, despite the discrimination they had to face in both North and South, to make something of themselves. You don’t have to be African-American to feel the impact (I know because I’m not). I then found myself reading several poems on plaques around the monument. One of the poems that I saw, read “I leaped in the air, and shouted HALLELUJUAH. Because I Was Free.” (Tambre Kincade 1995). The City of Dallas has done itself proud here. The memorial was stunning and well maintained with so much to look at. Freedmen’s cemetery was very interesting because it was so simple but yet had so much meaning behind everything you viewed. The
Freedman’s Memorial may have been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. You’ll find it just south of the intersection of Central Expressway and Lemmon Avenue in East Dallas, immediately east of the historic Temple Emanuel Cemetery, which is also something to see if you like that kind of thing.
A trip to the oldest cemetery in Dallas, Freedman’s Cemetery, will give you some insight on early black settlement and culture in Dallas.
Freedman’s cemetery belonged to a community of former slaves established in this area after the Civil War. Adjoining cemeteries at the same location, off Central Expressway at Lemmon Avenue, which also have historical significance, include that of Temple Emanu-El, which represents the earliest Jewish settlers in Dallas and dates a few years later than Freedman’s Cemetery. Freedman 's Cemetery, a graveyard for African Americans, was established in 1869 on one acre of land purchased by trustee Sam Eakins. Another 3 acres was acquired for cemetery purposes in 1879 by trustees. A. Wilhite, Frank Read, A. Boyd, T. Watson, George English, Silas Pitman, and the Rev. A. R. Griggs, a former slave who later became a local church leader and champion of early public education for the African American community. The community of churches, commercial enterprises, and residences that had developed in this area by the turn of the 20th century was by 1912 a part of the City of
Dallas.
Dr. Prince, who was born in 1930, believes that the land was originally a slave cemetery and that written records are only available after the Civil War because slaves were not allowed to read or write. After the war ended, he said, many of the 200,000 newly freed slaves in Texas headed toward the cities to be closer to the freedman 's bureaus established during Reconstruction. They settled in places that were familiar, and in Dallas that was the area around the slave cemetery, where they pitched tents and eventually built a community.
The land that included the cemetery was owned by William and Elizabeth Boales, former slave owners, who agreed to sell the one-acre parcel to a group of freedmen in 1869 for $25, a substantial price for the time. A decade later, an adjacent acre was bought by a larger group of freedmen for $425, payable over two years. Dr. Prince 's great-grandfather, Dock Rowen, was the last surviving member of that group. Dr. Prince recalled walking through the grounds with his great-uncles, who pointed to plots marked with only a wooden cross and told him which relatives were buried in each. He remembers their stories of the 1870 's, when the railroad was built through the land, simply covering many of the graves. And he remembers the 1940 's, when the original North Central Expressway was built along the route of the railroad and still more graves were disturbed. He said his family was offered $10 by the state for each relative whose grave could be proved to have been moved or destroyed during the construction.
In the 1930s-40s, the construction of an expressway and a major intersection eliminated most of the remaining above-ground reminders of the cemetery. In the late 1980s, efforts to expand the city 's Central Expressway led members of the local community, including descendants of those buried in the cemetery, to wage a successful campaign. Beginning in 1989 representatives of the community worked with the City of Dallas and the Texas Department of Transportation to preserve the historic Freedman 's Cemetery site prior to highway expansion. Between 1991 and 1994, an archeological investigation uncovered more than 1,000 graves, which were carefully relocated, and the local community constructed this memorial. This memorial honors former slaves buried in the Freedman 's Cemetery. An arched granite gate now stands at the site entrance. Poems around the perimeter also commemorate those originally buried here. Sculptures by David Newton tell the story of African Americans and their descendants ' journey from slavery to emancipation. Newton’s superb memorial guarantees that these formerly lost souls will forever be remembered in the universally honored spirit of triumph over adversity. This is a sentiment that all of humanity admires, and because of the genius, talent, and wisdom of master sculptor, David Newton, this admiration shall continue for centuries to come.

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Works Cited

"The Friends of Freedmen 's Cemetery." The Friends of Freedmen 's Cemetery. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery MemorialSouth Washington and Church Streets." Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"Dallas Freedmans Memorial Cemetery." Dallas Freedmans Memorial Cemetery. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
"Freedman 's Cemetery - Dallas, Texas." Freedman 's Cemetery - Dallas, Texas. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.