A new monument has been unveiled on the Texas State Capitol Grounds: the Texas African American History Memorial. Created by sculptor Ed Dwight, the monument portrays the history and experience of the African-American community in our state. It is installed on the southwest lawn near Congress Avenue and 11th Street.
One of my favorite downtown walks is around the grounds of the Texas State Capitol. Over 20 unique and interesting monuments and statues can be found on the 22 acres surrounding the huge capitol building. Many are war memorials, some are for the Civil War. I’ve attended dedications for the Tejano Monument and the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument. By year-end, a new Texas African-American History Memorial will be unveiled.
While the rest of us were enjoying three days off, our 84th Texas Legislature was hard at work over the Memorial Day weekend. Our state’s elected representatives, affectionally known as “the Lege” (pronounced ledge), only meets for 140 days on odd-numbered years (although governors can call them back to Austin for special sessions). The Lege is working overtime to finish before this year’s regular session ends on Monday, June 1.
An estimated 4500 people attended the dedication ceremony for the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument last Saturday. The monument is situated on the northeastern corner of the Capitol grounds. Five bronzed members of an infantry patrol are situated above relief panels representing all military branches. The base pedestal matches the distinctive red granite of the State Capitol building.