“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.” -from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou The colloquial adage, “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” exists for its inherent truth. Therefore, the most important element to meaningful and valuable progress is to create space that facilitates memory and reflection on the past for the purpose of cooperative progress. This design concept forms a memorial to American slavery based on two worlds: a place to remember, and a place to learn and progress. Middleton Place is one of the great gardens in the United States and once a thriving plantation, sadly, this collection of beautiful gardens was produced by American slavery. The memorial itself will exist on the ground level of the structure, as a commemorative garden which would be replanted every year. Unlike many memorials, which receive a somewhat casual visitation, this memorial is alive and interactive. A ceremony can easily accompany the annual replanting of the garden, and will create a forum for discourse in an organized manner, rather than bring in a loose collection of tourists. With the spaces for the memorial itself and the accompanying ceremony, a smaller space protrudes adjacent to the ceremonial area as a meditative place to remember the people who were bound as slaves at Middleton Place, to reflect on their suffering and the stifling of the physical and intellectual potential of these Americans held back by this repressive institution. This environment would allow patrons to pay respect to the injustice committed in such a beautiful land. Above these principle spaces of the memorial sit spaces for education and progress. The program consists of smaller spaces for individual learning, perhaps one or two patrons, as well as a larger space to facilitate the cooperation and progress that drives the design. The circulation of the memorial allows open vertical space which connects the two worlds, but sets clear boundaries between areas which reflect on the past, and those which look towards the future. The primary wall originates from the earth and forms into the memorial by encompassing the garden area. Just as the garden is rooted to the ground, the memorial should grow from the earth, and use the primary wall as an anchor for structural organization. The wall acts as a boundary between the commemorative garden and the inhabitable spaces of the memorial. The wall uses the same brick material as the old plantation structures from which the memorial originates. In plan, the structure is organized on an orthogonal grid on a north-south axis, which consists of the memorial spaces. The second level uses one strong angle which breaks the grid, oriented on an axis outward towards the plantation and gardens. This axis addresses the significance of Middleton plantation as a place of beauty and suffering. One of America's first and most beautiful gardens was built upon the backs of an oppressed people. The dialog between the memorial and the site creates an interesting duality between what exists as a result of oppression and injustice and what exists now as a result of cooperation and respect.