National Liberty Memorial

Push for the memorial

In 1980, Lena Santos Ferguson, an African American woman with documented ancestry from a Revolutionary War participant, applied for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) but could not find two members to sponsor her. Margaret Johnston of the Mary Washington chapter stated that Ferguson was not welcome because she was black. DAR national president Sarah King acknowledged that blacks were not being admitted, though she also cited other reasons for rejection.

Ferguson was granted limited membership in 1983, without voting rights or chapter affiliation. After the Council of the District of Columbia threatened to revoke the DAR's city tax exemption and Ferguson threatened a lawsuit over its federal tax exemption, the DAR admitted her as a full member. An agreement followed in which the DAR pledged to help minorities join, state in membership materials that all races were eligible, offer scholarships to District of Columbia students, educate members about African American roles in the war, identify all African Americans who fought, and support a congressional resolution for a national memorial honoring those African Americans.

National Liberty Memorial

While the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial was being designed, the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 (CWCRA) barred any memorial in Area I without National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC) approval. In 2005, Barboza established the National Mall Liberty Fund D.C., a nonprofit to honor African Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War, provided civilian assistance, or sought freedom during that period.

Senator Chris Dodd introduced legislation in April 2006 that referred to slaves and other persons who fought, not specifically to African Americans. Barboza asked the NCMAC to transfer the earlier memorial's site approval to the National Liberty Memorial, but the agency declined in 2007. Dodd's legislation died in December 2006; he introduced new bills in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Congress authorized the National Liberty Memorial on January 2, 2013, in Section 2859 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, defining it as a commemorative work to slaves and free black persons who served as soldiers, sailors, or civilians.

The National Mall Liberty Fund D.C. was authorized to build the memorial in Area I or Area II, but not in the Reserve area, and to raise private funds. Under the CWCRA, the foundation had seven years, until January 2, 2020, to raise funds and obtain approvals. The foundation hired sculptor David Newton, whose preliminary design shows an African American father with a rifle, a mother pointing toward the Lincoln Memorial, and a child in a tricorne hat beating a drum.

Did You Know?

• Congress authorized the National Liberty Memorial in January 2013; the authorization expired in 2021 but was renewed in December 2022.
• The memorial foundation is the National Mall Liberty Fund D.C., established in 2005 by Maurice Barboza.