A Change.org petition is calling for the U.S. government to acknowledge slaves with a memorial.

The petition, created by Craig Nessan, urges representatives to construct an African American slave memorial to acknowledge the contributions, trials and tribulations of our ancestors to the country. 

From Change.org:

The purpose of this Memorial is to draw awareness to the inhumanity that was inflicted on these peoples. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliminationism The intent of such a National Memorial is to summon our country to honesty regarding the reality of slavery in United States history and to acknowledge its lasting effects on African American people. We must be summoned to remembrance of the atrocities committed, thereby fostering Truth and Reconciliation among the races in our country.

We, the undersigned, ask that you place the Slave Memorial Act again before the Congress.

Read more at Change.org

In 2003, the National Slave Memorial Act, Bill H.R. 196 was presented to Congress. It proposed a construction of a National Memorial in memory of black men, women and children who were forced into slavery.

The petition list a number of reasons for the memorial, including the fact that “following legalized slavery, a system of structural discrimination was embedded in Jim Crow laws and reinforced by willful policies of intimidation, which included more than 5,000 lynchings,” a practice that some argue still exist today.

Click here to view and sign the petition.

 Do you think the country should acknowledge slavery with a memorial?

If not, what’s the best way to recognize the horrific truth of slavery?

Sound off below!