The purpose of the memorial is to illuminate lost history and tell us that blacks:
nServed honorably under General George Washington, and beside their white compatriots, in military and civilian roles.
nStruggled to win freedom and equality decades before Lincoln's birth and the Emancipation Proclamation.
nAspired to make the ideals of the Declaration of Independence a part of the Constitution and a reality for all citizens.
nFought and died in all wars, from the Revolution to Vietnam (including the Civil War).