For almost forty years, a campaign to memorialize and honor 5,000 people of African descent who played a significant role during the American Revolution on the National Mall has been taking place. In 1985, three descendants of American Revolutionary War patriots formed The Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation because they believed the history of Black participation in the war was not well known and that Black soldiers’ dedication to liberty and freedom was worthy of recognition in the form of a national memorial. While the project was first scheduled for completion in 2005, Congressional approval expired before the monument could be built, and the foundation dissolved. A second organization formed to create a National Liberty Memorial, and Congress provided another authorization for the memorial in 2013. 

After introducing students to the general history and concept of the memorial, divide students into small groups and assign them to one of the following research tasks: 

• The history of the memorial campaign
• The proposed design and location for the memorial, including its symbolism and meanings 
• The historical research that supports the memorial’s mission 

After researching, each group should make a short presentation. As a class, brainstorm: what various problems has the memorial campaign encountered? What are some possible solutions? Why is the memorial important and what story is it attempting to tell? How can students get involved to move the project forward? As a class, consider organizing a campaign or action to get involved.