Land Provided for Black Memorial
President Reagan has signed a bill providing land in the nation’s capital for a memorial to honor black Revolutionary War patriots, organizers said Tuesday.
An estimated 5,000 black soldiers fought in the revolution, and thousands of black families used the conflict to flee slavery, the organizers said.
“Long before the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks won their freedom and fought in the American Revolution,” said Maurice Barboza, president of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation, which is sponsoring the memorial.
The foundation needs to raise $4 million in donations to build the memorial, Barboza said. No federal money has been allocated.
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