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Remember Them: Champions For Humanity Monument 1

The Remember Them: Champions For Humanity Monument, by Oakland sculptor Mario Chiodo, is located in the Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park at the corner of 19th and Rashida Muhammad Streets.  The bronze with cast stone base sculpture measures 25' high and 52' wide, covers 1,000 sq. ft. and is in four sections weighing over 60,000 lbs.  With four sections, this is the largest bronze monument on the west coast, and the only monument in the country dedicated to Civil Rights.

The Remember Them Monument highlights the accomplishments of 25 global humanitarians: 2

  1.  The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy (1926-1990): Partner with Martin Luther King Jr. in civil rights activism
  2.  Maya Angelou (1928-2014): Poet, playwright, civil rights activist
  3.  Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906): Human rights activist who fought for women’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery
  4.  Ruby Bridges (1954-present): At age 6 braved an angry mob to become first black student in all-white school in the South
  5.  Cesar Chavez (1927-1993): Civil rights activist and agricultural workers labor leader
  6.  Chief Joseph (1846-1904): Head of the Nez Perce Nation and human rights activist
  7.  Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965): British prime minister during WWII, alone at first against Nazi fascism
  8.  Frederick Douglass (1817-1895): A former slave who became a foremost leader in the abolitionist movement
  9.  Shirin Ebadi (1947-present): Human rights activist for Middle East issues and Nobel Peace Prize winner
  10.  Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948): Pacifist who lead India to independence from Great Britain
  11.  Helen Keller (1880-1968): Fought for rights for those with disabilities
  12.  Coretta Scott King (1927-2006): Civil rights activist
  13.  The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968): Civil rights leader
  14.  Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865): American president who abolished slavery
  15.  Nelson Mandela (1918-2013): Human rights activist and first democratically elected president of South Africa
  16.  Harvey Milk (1930-1978): A leader of the gay rights movement
  17.  Mother Teresa (1910-1997): Leader of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, won 1979 Nobel Peace Prize
  18.  Rosa Parks (1913-2005): Civil rights activist
  19.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945): United States president during WWII, who also established the United Nations
  20.  Oskar Schindler (1908-1974): German business man who outwitted Nazis to save more than 1,200 Jewish lives
  21.  Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022): Pacifist Vietnamese Buddhist monk who is a human rights and anti-war activist
  22.  Rigoberta Menchu Tum (1959-present): Human rights activist for indigenous people in Latin America
  23.  The Unknown Rebel of Tiananmen Square (1989): Stood in front of tanks during student human rights uprising in China
  24.  Elie Wiesel (1928-2016): Holocaust survivor dedicated to preventing genocide
  25.  Malcolm X (1925-1965): Black nationalist, civil rights leader

Local Champions honored on the Remember Them monument include: 3

  1. Joyce Taylor
  2. Henry J. Kaiser
  3. Mary Ann Wright
  4. Joaquin Miller
  5. Fred Korematsu
  6. Dr. Marcus Foster
  7. Oleta Abrams
  8. Carmen Flores
  9. Josie De La Cruz
  10. Royal Towns
  11. Ina Coolbrith
  12. John Grubensky
  13. Ansel Hall
  14. Ohlone Woman

Remember Them sculptor Mario Chiodo 4?

Points of Interest include the following:

  • The visually impaired feature of the educational monument is first of its kind, allowing the visually impaired to touch and feel the faces of 25 world figures in one place, with humanitarian quotes also in braille.
  • The Remember Them educational monument is designed on a spiraling axis emulating the helix of the common DNA of all humans.
  • The base will include sculptures of books to illustrate the importance of education in the lives and work of all of the honorees.
  • The base will also feature seven sets of interlocking men and women, symbolizing the seven continents of earth.
  • The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN will have a casting of the educational monument on display in their museum.

Dedication

On Friday, May 31, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.the monument was formally dedicated. 

Links and References

  1. Oakland breaks ground for monument to world's great humanitarians Oakland North
  2. Public invited to 'Remember Them' groundbreaking in downtown Oakland Oakland Local

  3. Remember Them: Champions for Humanity - Monument Facts

  4. Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

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