Tomb of the Unkown Slave

The Tomb of the Unknown Slave was originally proposed by William Savoy, a lay rector from St. Luke Episcopal Church and it would commemorate all of the slaves buried in unmarked tombs around the country. Many ideas were bounced around for what the memorial would look like, and it was decided that a few crosses and a plaque would adequately convey the message of the tomb while symbolizing that the slaves had little property and were buried randomly in the ground. It was also agreed that shackles and chains, representing the essence of slavery, would be the main feature of the memorial and a 1500 pound marine chain (which incidentally was found by a spot along the Mississippi River where numerous slaves were dumped after death) became the main cross in the center of the tomb. Smaller chain-link crosses are stuck in the ground randomly around the larger cross and the ground is rocky and grassy.