Persistance of Memory It sits in a corner in West Potomac Park in Washington D.C.. It sits silently. As you approach you see a 100 columns rising from the ground. These columns which stand 8 feet tall are each decorated with designs from African quilts which is a piece of culture that can still be found today 300 years later from the original settlers brought over as slaves. Each column, etched with these designs give the visitor a chance to run there fingers over it; to try to understand the stories that were passed through the quilts; to make a physical connection, an emotional connection to a memory from long ago. The columns connect with one another in a larger quilt that makes up the courtyard. The Visitor is given a chance to explore this memory by foot, by touch, & by the silence of the location. It is a spot of meditation. We can ask ourselves in the space what it took to survive and to still create these beautiful artifacts that were a record of their families. At night it becomes larger by illumination, providing a much more celebrated memorial. Each column lights from within and the seams of the quilt glow with this light. The light makes it dream like, passing around 100 illuminated quilts each with a story to tell. The ground glows from the ambient light of the columns and the vibrant colors are still apparent. Memorials should tell a story. These stories have different meanings to the visitors and that grounds the memorial in there memory for ever. It resonates within us. Something as cruel as slavery is nothing we should ever forget but the stories of the power behind the people that survived, that fought for freedom should be more powerful and inspiring to us. This is what the memorial will stand for, not the act of slavery but the beautiful people that had the courage to fight for change for the better of man kind.