New York City Monuments of Black Americans: A History and Guide

New York City is blessed with an incredible array of public sculptures.

One overlooked aspect of this collection is its monuments of Black Americans, each with its own remarkable story. The first appearance of a Black person in a city monument came in the Civil War Soldiers' Monument in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery in 1876, but this was a nameless symbolic figure. It wasn't until 1945 that Booker T. Washington became the first identifiable Black American honored in a New York City monument. In 2007, the city dedicated its first monument to a Black woman, Harriet Tubman. Behind every first is a story of triumph over adversity and exclusion. Local author David Felsen reveals the stories behind thirty inspiring monuments that have endured, as well as how they found their place in the city's history.

Author: David Felsen
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: History Press
Published: 06/17/2025
Series: American Heritage
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.90w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781467159050