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I see memorialization as the physical manifestation of our collective experience, memory and history. Our engagement with these spaces allows us to simultaneously reach back into the past and project ourselves into the future. The memorialization of public space allows often complex and contradictory needs to coexist simultaneously. It must provide space for individual reflection and contemplation of often tragic histories, and at the same time provide a place for collective gathering and celebration. 

I am but one of approximately 200 million in the western hemisphere with a distinct connection to the cultural legacy of people of African descent. Part of that connection has to do with my being a first-generation American-born son of Haitian immigrants. As such, my identity is constructed from a combination of American, Haitian and African components. The journey I have taken in my adult life through my work academically and professionally reflects a process of attempting to understand how these multiple cultural elements formed the basis of my modern identity, and in doing so, acknowledge the role the transatlantic slave trade played as a powerful catalyst in the evolution of that identity.

Acknowledge the Tragedy, Consider the Legacy, Lest We Forget

These three distinct phrases individually and collectively established the theme forming the inspiration for the design of the Ark of Return, the Permanent Memorial in Honour of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the United Nations. It has been 10 years since the Ark of Return was inaugurated on 25 March 2015. Since that historic day, the Permanent Memorial has been featured prominently on the United Nations Visitors Plaza, north-east of the primary entrance to the United Nations General Assembly Building in New York, serving as a sacred space of reflection and providing visitors the opportunity to:

1. Acknowledge the Tragedy and global scope of the transatlantic slave trade.

2. Consider the Legacy and impact that slavery has had upon its victims and continues to have upon their descendants and society at large.

3. Educate visitors and world leaders about the sacrifices of enslaved people in the past as well as the condition of victims of modern slavery and injustice in the present, Lest We Forget.

The triangular design of the Ark of Return is inspired by and references the ¡°triangular slave trade¡±. The Permanent Memorial¡¯s form is constructed in a fashion to reflect the shape of a vessel or ship, and is meant to acknowledge the fact that physical ships transported millions of African people to the western hemisphere through the perilous transatlantic voyage known as the Middle Passage. Some are familiar with the ¡°Door of No Return¡± in the slave castle located on Gor¨¦e Island in Senegal, West Africa. Many more do not know that there were likely hundreds of similar places where enslaved Africans were taken, held against their will and placed upon ships to endure the Middle Passage, never to return. As a counter to that tragic history, the Ark of Return is a spiritual vessel that serves to symbolically return the spirits of those lost during the Middle Passage to their ancestral home, and psychologically transport humanity to a collective consciousness where global acknowledgement, reflection and healing can take place.

Visitors are meant to pass through the Ark of Return to intimately experience three primary elements addressing the past, present and future.

Upon your arrival at the plaza to the north of the General Assembly building you are greeted by the image of the Ark¡¯s glowing white marble form prominently placed on a central axis within the plaza. A triangular window at the side of the monument draws you toward the Permanent Memorial. Looking through the marble structure reveals the first element: a circular map featuring a relief of Africa inscribed on the interior surface of the Memorial. The map is engraved with patterns depicting the triangular trade and 66 points identifying locations from where enslaved human beings were held captive and transported from the African continent. This map graphically depicts the global scale, complexity and impact of the triangular slave trade in ¡°acknowledgement of the tragedy¡±.

Visitors are provided the opportunity to seriously ¡°consider the legacy¡± of slavery¡¯s impact upon humanity in the second element, which was inspired by the drawings of slave ships. These drawings are also powerful historic reminders of the cruel efficiency with which these vessels were designed to function and of the extreme conditions that enslaved Africans endured for many months during the Middle Passage across the Atlantic.

In honour of and respect to the lives and memories of the souls that endured that journey, many of whom persished, we have incorporated the second element of a full-scale figure lying horizontally within a triangular niche opposite the wall inscribed with images of the interior of a slave ship. This figure represents the spirits of the millions of souls of men, women and children who have died. The trinity of the spirit of man, woman and child is the concept for the classical figure, which is hand sculpted out of African Black Zimbabwe granite by master craftsmen. The figure is conceived as a living spirit on a return journey. The outstretched hand of the figure is meant to offer the opportunity to interact and connect with the Permanent Memorial and the ancestors physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The third and final element is a triangular-shaped font. The font points towards a stainless steel panel at the base, engraved with the names of 66 documented locations identified on the map from where most people were taken from the African continent against their will. The Ark is the vessel through which the spirits of those lost souls can be symbolically transported and returned to a place of rest. It also points humanity in a direction away from the horror of this legacy and towards a more reparative, restorative and just future.