Did you know there are broken shackles representing the end of slavery partially hidden underneath the skirt of the Statue of Liberty (Lady Liberty)?
Wow! It is amazing the extent to which we have been and continue to be willing to go to hide our truth from ourselves and everyone else. For the vast majority of Americans and for all our lives, we have been taught the Statue of Liberty is a gift given to us by the French to celebrate us as the welcomers of immigrants. Rarely, if ever, have we been taught that it really was designed to celebrate the end of slavery.
Catherine Meeks
The statue was unveiled in 1886, and Ellis Island opened six years later to welcome immigrants. Emma Lazarus’ poem stating, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” was added in 1903, according to Edward Berenson, a New York University history professor and author of the book The Statue of Liberty: A Transatlantic Story.
According to a 2019 Washington Post article by Gillian Brockell, the monument, which was drawing about 4.5 million visitors a year at that time, was first imagined by Edouard de Laboulaye. It seems he was an expert on the U.S. Constitution and loved America. He was so delighted when the Civil War ended, he served on a French Committee that raised and distributed funds to newly freed enslaved persons. Laboulaye was jubilant when slavery was abolished, according to Y.S. Khan, the author of the book, Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statute of Liberty.
Laboulaye used his influence and organized a group of French abolitionists to explore the possibility of creating some kind of commemorative gift France could give to the United States that would recognize the importance of the liberation of enslaved people. Originally the design was for the Lady to hold a torch in her right hand and broken shackles in her left hand. But the final model has her holding the torch and a tablet inscribed with the Roman numerals for July 4,1776. The shackles are still present, but they are beneath her feet and almost not visible. They are intended to be underneath the hem of her skirt and invisible.
Of course, the shackles would have to be made as invisible as possible. There was more than likely no one in America or Europe who thought that enslaving Africans was exactly the right thing to do. There was shame as it should have been from the nightmare of enslaving fellow humans and causing all of the pain and suffering that accompanied that indefensible system. And the shame made it impossible to proclaim any joy at seeing its ending. The courage to take such a position would have resulted in creating a much different nation than the one that we have today.
This detail on the Statue of Liberty’s feet on the platform is not visible to most visitors. It is visibl;e mainly from aerials and drones. It was photographed by the U.S. National Park Service, and the changes in perspective, coloring, and background were the work of Betty Wills to emphasize the broken shackle and chains. The broken shackle and chains memorializes abolition in America and commend President Abraham Lincoln for his Emancipation Proclamation. The sonnet, “The New Colossus,” changed the focus of Lady Liberty by making it about immigration rather than abolition and liberty. (Photo: National Park Service)
This story of Lady Liberty is instructive for us today. Look at us. We are trying so hard to change historical facts. It is almost impossible to believe some of the efforts many folks are willing to undertake in order to avoid embracing the truth around our racial history and the journey we have traveled together.
“Let us hide the truth because then it will no longer be true,” is a powerful prevailing notion. But this is very sad because it is a lie.
Statue of Liberty (Ellis Island Foundation)
Whether or not we like a historical fact is absolutely not relevant to the impact that fact has had and will continue to have depending upon its nature. Therefore, it continues to be better for us all to seek to find a way to name the best truth we can for ourselves — which will not take that long once we turn our intention and attention in the direction of the pursuit of the truth about any and all information.
James Baldwin warned us many years ago that “while you cannot fix everything that you name, you will not fix anything that you do not name.” Racism has a very clear name, and all who are striving to be the best humans we can be know how to identify it and call it by its name. All of us have been taught we can make it through this life without looking at both our inner self and outer self. Now we know that was a lie like so many others. We have to engage the inner self and the outer reality in order to help create a world that will continue to sustain our lives.
Lady Liberty proclaims we can come as we are and there is hope. The hidden shackles must be made visible, the truth must be told, the light has to shine in the night. She declares it is all possible and we have to decide whether or not we will trust that the journey to awakening, which leads to sustainable healing, is worth engaging.
We have to take a look at her feet and see the almost invisible shackles and allow our guides to send us forth. Our country needs us. Our planet needs us.
Be a half shade braver!
Catherine Meeks was given the President Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement and Service Award in August 2022; was listed by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the 500 women to watch in Georgia in 2022; retired as the Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies at Mercer University; is an author, community and wellness activist and mid\wife to the soul. She previously served as founding executive director of Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing and currently serves as founder and executive director of the Turquoise and Lavender Institute for Transformation and Healing. She lives in Atlanta.