Middle Passage Monument (Kingshill, St. Croix, USVI)

The twelve-foot-high memorial is composed of two large, thick aluminum arcs that bend towards each another but do not touch. The color has a silvery-gray tone and a matte surface etched with scratch-like patterns. It is installed on the grassy grounds of the St. Croix Educational Complex.  The monument commemorates the thousands of Africans who perished during the transatlantic slave trade. The version in St. Croix is a replica of the original memorial, which was ceremonially buried on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean—approximately 140 miles off the coast of New York Harbor — following an elaborate funeral procession and a blessing ceremony conducted by a multi-faith group of clergy in 1999.