Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at UVA

The Memorial to Enslaved Laborers (MEL) acknowledges the work and individual lives of the enslaved African Americans who built the University of Virginia and sustained daily life from its founding.

The Memorial responds to a deep need to address a previously unacknowledged history. By creating a physical place of honor to the enslaved, the Memorial is designed to be a place of healing but also one of learning and an inspiration for action. The design draws upon commemorative traditions of form and rituals from across the African diaspora and the African continent. The Memorial acknowledges the dualities of enslavement—the pain of bondage and hope for the future.

An estimated 4,000 enslaved persons worked on the Grounds of UVA between 1817 and 1865, when the Union Army announced the end of legal slavery. Although details about the lives of the enslaved community are scarce, all are recognized on the inner arc of the Memorial. This inner wall is gouged with thousands of “memory marks.” Some of the memory marks have names above them, but the vast majority do not. Inscriptions were designed so that additional names can be added to the Memorial as they become known through further historical research and engagement with descendants. The Memorial also includes a timeline of events that articulate the history of the enslaved laborers who helped to construct the University of Virginia. The eyes of noted educator and formerly enslaved woman Isabella Gibbons are inscribed, in monumental scale, on exterior wall of Memorial.

The Memorial is open to the public 24 hours a day. Visiting the Memorial is free, and the Memorial site is ADA accessible.