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A nationally known human rights activist and vice presidential nominee spoke Monday in favor of a proposed 9-acre park in Shockoe Bottom that would convey Richmond’s role in the slave trade and memorialize enslaved Africans.

Ajamu Baraka, the vice presidential nominee for the Green Party and the running mate of Jill Stein, told a small audience that he has been watching Richmond’s “struggle” for several years to properly memorialize and tell the stories of Africans who were enslaved in Shockoe Bottom.

“Many people think that this is a local struggle but, in fact, it is a national struggle, because of the importance of this spot in the slave trade that took place here in this country,” Baraka told an audience of about 20 people at the site of the proposed memorial park in Shockoe Bottom near the train tracks at East Broad and North 16th streets.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration is pursuing a museum at the Lumpkin’s slave jail site. However, Baraka contended that a community-initiated plan, supported by activists that include members of Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, would be far more comprehensive and would properly recognize the history.