Lake Cumberland Slaves Memorial

The Lake Cumberland Slaves Memorial wishes to bring dignity, respect, and honor to the final resting place for enslaved Americans in the Lake Cumberland area of Kentucky.  In the words of Sandra A. Arnold, "Our country should explore ways to preserve the public memory of enslaved Americans.  Their overlooked lives are an inextricable part of the historical narrative of our country - not simply because they were the "beneficiaries" of the 13th Amendment.  We should remember enslaved Americans for the same reason we remember anyone; because they were fathers, mothers, siblings and grandparents who made a great contribution to our nation.  Regardless of our country's history or our ambivalence about the memory of slavery, we choose to remember the enslaved - the forgotten.  They offer our contemporary society examples of resilience and humanity.  Preserving their memory contributes to our own humanity."

Since the emanicaptiion of enslaved Americans, their public memory has become abstract, or forgotten.  We desire to memorialize those buried in the Lake Cumberland area.  We know of no other memorial in our region or Kentucky which recognizes the sacred spaces of enslaved Americans.