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16 Monuments Around the World Honoring Black People That Everyone Must See Before They Die

Posted byBy Curtis Bunn | Published on: CommentsComments (2)

D004 - Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, 1986 - Hitchcock's siteCape Coast Castle, West Africa

Cape Coast Castle was originally built as a small trading lodge that was subsequently added to and enlarged until it became a fortification, according to many historians. The Dutch occupied the castle in 1652, and it was later captured by the Swedes, who named it Fort Carolusburg. In 1664, after a four-day battle between the locals and outsiders, the fort was captured by the British and renamed Cape Coast Castle.

Enslaved people were kept at Cape Coast Castle in the dark, disease-riddled dungeons while awaiting transport to the Americas. Around 1,000 enslaved men and 500 enslaved women occupied the castle at any one time in separate dungeons. Each would be locked up for six to 12 months before boarding ships that would take them to the Caribbean and United States.

 

6617712661_61631ddab6Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Site

It took nearly 20 years to raise the money, but a memorial honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. finally was erected in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 22, 2011. King is the first African-American to be honored with a memorial on or near the National Mall and only the fourth non-president to be memorialized in such a way. Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin is the sculptor of the 30-foot likeness of the civil rights leader.

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