Oberlin rising

As our nation continues to discuss and, at times, convulse over the issue of memorials, quietly there is an unusual memorial being built right here in Raleigh on Oberlin Road. It is a memorial that seems to have brought people together rather than torn them apart. It is a project called Oberlin Rising that has stretched me as an artist and, more importantly, as a human being.

Oberlin is the name of a community founded by freed slaves who began tilling their own land in the 1870s and grew to become a well-respected and lively part of North Carolina’s capital city. Indeed, citizens from Oberlin became the first police chief, the first mail carrier, successful military career officers, teachers and revered craftspeople. Named after the forward-thinking abolitionist college in Ohio, Oberlin thrived during Reconstruction only to face tough times during the Jim Crow era and the depression years of the 1920s. Like many such communities, pro-white policies, legislation and ordinances continued to eat away at the community. However, never did the community collapse and it continues to live on today reduced but fondly remembered.

As an artist charged with designing “a sculpture” in front of a 1980s office building, it became quickly apparent that the site was charged with an important history, that it was Oberlin that the project needed to be about. I wrestled with what to say, me, speaking “on behalf” of a community whose history is vastly different from my own privileged white upbringing.

To make a long story short, the key came from a visit to Oberlin’s cemetery, which began sometime in the 1800s and now houses the remains of many hundreds of African-Americans. Most of the graves are clearly marked, but at the entrance there is a humble sign that warns of not removing small stones or boards that could be markers for the earliest burials in the cemetery. I realized that this was the key to the art project: to mark those that have been undermarked, to mark those who were never marked. And isn’t that what every community wants and what every American wants? To be known, to be valued, to be respected enough to be marked, to be noticed.

So, “Oberlin Rising” is a memorial to remember those of a vibrant community who were never acknowledged, who were run over by the building of Wade Avenue, who are now being further diminished by rampant development for upper middle-class renters. This is, indeed, a memorial of a different sort than those atop large pedestals celebrating a cause of dubious underpinnings to the detriment of others.

Thomas Sayre of Raleigh is an internationally known artist and sculptor. His work is on display at museums and many other sites around the world. “Oberlin Rising” is the result of a commission from the family of Smedes York, a former mayor of Raleigh.

This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Oberlin rising."