Source: KYW-NewsRadio 1060
Date: July 3, 2003
Byline: John Ostapkovich

Demonstrators Want African Memorial On Independence Mall

A demonstration Thursday afternoon at 6th and Market Streets aims to free up some federal money for another addition to Independence Mall.

When the Colonies fought for freedom from England, slaves remained in chains.

When the Constitution guaranteed individual rights, slaves were left out — so much so that when George Washington served as president he had slaves in his official residence right in the same hallowed historic block where the Liberty Bell sits.

Lawyer Michael Coard of ATAC — the "Avenging The Ancestors Coalition" — says it's time to publicly remember them:

"Some type of monument, some type of memorial, some type of honor to their memory, some what we're calling conspicuous, expansive and historically correct monument or memorial, that's what we're talking about."

And Coard says the National Park Service has been listening, but so far Congress has not freed up the kind of money it will take to do the job right.

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