(5-2011) Enlarge The African American Monument is located on the south side of Grant Avenue between milepost 4.3 and 4.4. The statue was erected by the State of Mississippi at a cost of $300,000, which includes $25,000 contributed by the City of Vicksburg. The sculpture is the work of Dr. Kim Sessums an artist from Brookhaven, Mississippi

The monument consists of three bronze figures on a base of black African granite. Two of the figures are black Union soldiers, while the third is a common field hand. The field hand and one soldier support between them the second soldier who is wounded and represents the sacrifice in blood made by black soldiers on the field of battle during the Civil War. The field hand is looking behind at a past of slavery, while the first soldier gazes toward a future of freedom secured by force of arms on the field of battle

(2006) Enlarge
 
Richard Edling photo

(March 17, 2013) Enlarge New Interpretive Marker