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From YouTube: Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial Restoration Launch
Description
Mayor Walsh joins The National Park Service, Friends of the Public Garden, and Museum of African American History to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to restore the Shaw Memorial. At over 120 years old, the Shaw Memorial is one of the most iconic works of art to come from the Civil War.
A
A
Welcome
all
to
the
official
launch
of
an
exciting
partnership.
It
is
undertaking
a
2.8
million
dollar
restoration
of
the
Shaw
54th
regiment
memorial
right
behind
me.
My
name
is
this
visa
and
of
executive
director
of
the
Friends
of
the
public
garden
since
1970,
we
have
worked
a
partnership
with
the
city
to
care
for
renew
and
protect
the
Boston
Common,
the
public
garden
and
the
Commonwealth
Avenue
Mall.
A
We
are
joined
today
by
partners
in
this
initiative,
the
city
of
Boston,
this
National
Park
Service
and
the
museum
of
african-american
history,
and
we
were
so
pleased
Mary
that
you
can
be
with
us
today
and
that
you
have
agreed
to
co-chair
this
committee,
along
with
Governor
Baker
and
Robert
Stanton,
who
is
the
first
African
American
director
of
the
National
Park
Service
former
director
for
the
first
one
of
African
American
descent.
We
also
have
some
other
committee
members
present.
A
So
at
the
end
of
this
event,
please
come
forward
and
be
part
of
photo
photographing
the
event
and
the
signing
we're
putting
together
a
committee
of
descendants
of
the
Shaw
54th
regiment
members
scholars
leaders
in
the
african-american
community.
We
have
invited
some
national
leaders
we'll
see
if
they
respond
to
it.
We've
had
a
wonderful
response
so
far
and
I
want
to
welcome
and
thanks
so
much
the
elected
officials
who
are
with
us
today.
We
have
representative
J
Livingstone
here.
A
Any
of
you
so
thank
you
so
much
for
joining
us.
We
will
be
using
this
major
restoration
project
as
an
opportunity
to
engage
the
community
in
a
series
of
programs
that
provoke
us
all
to
think
about
where
we
stand
today
on
the
issues
of
race,
freedom
and
justice.
This
is
not
about
just
reconstructing
a
monumental.
This
could
not
come
in
a
more
important
time
in
our
turbulent
moment
on
the
national
stage.
This
ball
were
sponsoring
a
community
conversation
with
several
national
figures
to
talk
about
the
power
of
monuments.
A
What
the
Sean
fifty-fourth
says
to
us
today
and
how
my
name
is
confuses
vehicles
of
communication
for
good,
as
well
as
for
Hill,
so
stay
tuned
of
news
of
those
events
coming
up
soon.
You
will
hear
more
about
the
memorial
considered,
one
of
the
nation's
greatest
public
monuments
and
the
story.
It
tells
of
the
remarkable
54th
regiment,
with
the
National
Park
Service,
the
Museum
of
african-american
history
and
the
54th
I
would
like
to
touch
on
the
restoration
history
and
why
they
need
to
do
this
major
project.
A
Today,
private
funds
built
this
memorial,
which
was
given
to
the
city
on
May
31st
1897
by
the
late
20th
century
after
many
decades
of
neglect.
This
is
what
it
looked
like.
If
you
can
see
the
poster
on
the
far
side,
the
topkick
image
it
was
dripping
green
somebody
had
put
in
a
floral
an
artificial
floral
bouquet
and
Shaw's
arms.
A
We
are
going
to
be
removing
the
bronze
and
all
the
stones
from
the
plaza
level
up.
So
behind
me,
you
see
that
wavy
line
all
that
stone.
As
well
as
the
bronze
is
going
to
be
removed,
we're
going
to
install
a
new
waterproofing
under
the
plaza
conserving
the
bronze
and
constructing
a
new
concrete
foundation
beneath
it.
We're
also
going
to
be
inserting
a
stainless
steel
frame
between
the
bronze
and
the
marble
beneath,
so
we
can
fit
behind
us.
We
can
pin
them
together
and
and
further
secure.
A
This
will
take
about
five
to
six
months
starting
next
spring.
During
that
time,
a
large
proportion
of
a
common
behind
this
will
even
be
fenced
off.
So,
as
you
know,
we
have
a
huge
number
of
people
moving
through
the
park
over
10,000
a
day,
so
in
order
not
to
create
a
new
path
between
this
path
and
Armstrong
path,
which
is
the
next
diagonal
one
below
us,
the
fencing
will
encompass
this
whole
area.
A
A
A
You're
also
raising
funds
to
support
the
programs
that
events
be
a
plan
and
would
be
happy
to
hear
from
anyone
who
would
like
an
opportunity
to
become
a
supporter
of
this
initiative.
So
let
us
know
if
you
know
of
anyone
that
would
like
to
be
part
of
these
year-and-a-half
of
events.
So
now
it
is
my
pleasure
to
introduce
Marita
Rivero
from
the
executive
director
of
the
Museum
of
african-american
history
and
we'll
talk
about
the
54th
regiment
and
a
departure
from
Boston
marching
down
the
street
behind
us
to
make
history.
D
Good
morning,
how
wonderful
to
be
here
today,
the
North
Slope
of
Beacon
Hill
and
the
right
over
the
hill
behind
us
was
home
to
Boston's
black
community
in
the
17
and
1800's
visitors
often
begin
their
exploration
of
our
Black
Heritage
Trail
and
the
1806
African
meeting
house
right
here
at
this
stunning
Shaw
Memorial
a
truly
a
National
Monument.
But
let's
go
back
to
the
mid-1800s
and
the
Civil
War.
D
When
the
Union
was
losing
President
Lincoln
responded
to
pressure
from
black
and
white
abolitionists,
including
Boston's,
most
hated
from
the
North
Slope
and
Massachusetts
governor
John
Andrew
their
message:
black
men
needed
to
fight
if
the
war
was
to
be
won,
Hayden
and
other
black
leaders
were
prepared
to
raise
the
first
black
regiment
in
the
north.
Frederick
Douglass
would
have
devoted
himself
to
recruiting
men
from
Ohio,
New,
England
and
Canada.
That
was
his
two
sons,
Charles
and
Lewis.
D
Joining
the
54th
from
New
York
in
1863,
President
Lincoln
ended
slavery
by
signing
the
Emancipation
Proclamation
and
recruitment
could
commence
within
weeks.
Here
1,000
men
joined
the
54th,
despite
the
fact
that
were
they
captured,
we
think
where
they
captured,
they
would
be
enslaved
or
killed
Boston's
African
meeting
house
with
a
recruitment
center,
as
was
camp
pigs
in
Hyde
Park
black
men
weren't
allowed
to
be
officers,
but
the
son
of
a
noted
abolitionist
Colonel
Robert
Gould
Shaw
himself,
a
veteran
accepted
the
command
a
few
months
later,
when
the
54th
Massachusetts
Infantry
Regiment,
but
Boston.
D
D
There
were
speeches,
journalists
how,
at
the
event,
people
lined
the
street
Frederick
Douglass
himself
was
present
to
see
the
men
off
that
battery
ward.
As
indication
of
the
high
priority
placed
on
the
formation
of
this
regiment
noted
black
activist
Harriet
Tubman
met
the
troops
when
their
steamships
landed
in
South
Carolina
and
served
them
breakfast
in
subsequent
battles.
The
regiment
proved
their
death
provided
without
death,
their
ability,
their
courage
under
fire
in
their
Balor.
This
was
additional
cause
for
celebration
because
it
changed
the
stereotypical
and
cartoonish
picture
of
black
men
that
had
been
promoted.
D
B
B
After
almost
a
decade
than
Governor,
Patrick
reactivated
the
54th
in
order
to
serve
as
the
state
militia
designation
for
onigen,
and
we
would
not
have
been
able
to
do
that
without
the
help
of
lieutenant
hill.
Many
54th
reenactors,
who
stayed
with
us
from
thick
and
thin
through
from
the
very
beginning,
to
this
day,
I'd
like
to
thank
you.
B
I'm
leveled
to
join
you
to
commemorate
the
one
hundred
and
fifty
fifth
anniversary
of
the
Battle
of
Fort
Wagner
and
I'm,
going
to
pause
one
more
time
because
I
can
cross
something
very
ironic.
You
know
it
was
one
hundred
and
fifty
five
years
ago
that
the
54th
spilt,
their
blood
and
port
Wagner
in
the
sands
of
South
Carolina,
but
it
wasn't
until
seventy
years
ago
yesterday,
the
president
Harry
Truman,
officially
desegregated
the
United
States
military
more
than
90
years
after
this
unit,
consecrated
the
combat
arms
with
their
blood.
B
B
Major
General,
Quincy,
Adams
Gilmore,
the
tenth
Corps
commander
from
the
commander
of
the
southern
department,
under
which
the
54th
served
ordered
his
command
to
be
integrated
and
that
black
units
were
not
to
be
assigned
menial
tasks.
His
name
would
be
given
to
the
Gilmour
award
for
valor
and
struck
as
a
medal
and
for
members
of
the
54th
received
the
Gilmore
four
gallant
conduct
during
the
assault
on
Fort
Wagner,
South
Carolina,
where
numerous
members
of
the
unit
and
their
commander
Colonel
Robert,
Gould.
B
Shaw
were
killed
at
the
conclusion
of
the
Civil
War,
the
members
of
the
54th
returned
home
to
face
discrimination
and
economic
hardship
in
a
society
that
had
yet
to
begin
shedding
the
underpinnings
of
white
supremacy
in
the
153
years
since
the
end
of
the
Civil
War
much
has
changed
in
America
and
in
the
military.
Yet
we
still
grapple
as
a
nation
with
the
vestiges,
and
that
goes
of
injustice.
B
The
commitment
to
preserve
this
money
not
only
shows
that
the
city
of
Boston
and
the
Commonwealth
of
Massachusetts
will
always
remember
the
courage
and
sacrifice
of
the
Massachusetts
54th
Volunteer
Infantry
Regiment,
but
that
we
also
remember
the
struggle
for
equality,
a
struggle
that
is
ours
to
continue
in
their
honor.
Thank
you
for
the
privilege
of
joining
you
today
and
thank
you
for
holding
the
honor
and
memory.
A
F
Good
morning,
a
wonderful
is
to
be
here
with
friends
and
supporters
of
this
incredible
project
to
undertake
a
restoration
of
this
magnificent
monument.
The
Sean,
the
54th
regiment,
is
one
of
Augustus
saint-gaudens,
most
stirring
and
celebrated
masterpieces,
and
it
is
considered
by
some
to
the
America's
greatest
public
money
when
dedicated
in
1897,
the
Shaw
Memorial
stood
as
a
monument
to
the
true
meaning
of
the
Civil
War,
as
Americans
began
to
remember
those
years
of
history,
books,
commemorations.
F
They
deliberately
focused
on
the
mutual
courage
and
shared
sacrifice
of
the
soldiers
of
both
sides,
pushing
the
true
meaning
of
the
war
further
from
public
memory,
but
as
Frederick
Douglass
said,
whatever
else
I
may
forget,
I
shall
never
forget
the
difference
between
those
who
fought
for
liberty
and
those
who
fought
for
slavery.
The
Shaw
Memorial
does
not.
Let
us
forget
the
day
of
the
unveiling.
G
F
Weather
was
overcast
and
white
misty
rain.
In
spite
of
this,
there
was
a
few
festive
feeling
and
spectators
lined
streets
too
large
American
flags,
draped,
the
sculpture
at
11:17
a.m.
two
young
nephews
of
Robert,
Gould
Shaw
unveiled
the
memorial,
the
crowd,
cheered
and
a
band
struck
up
the
Battle
Hymn
of
the
Republic
and
an
artillery
battery
on
the
comet
fired,
17
gun
salute
and
from
the
harbor
a
21
gun
salute
the
military
units.
President
began
to
march
past
the
memorial
led
by
65
veterans
of
the
54th,
some
of
the
officers
wore
their
civil
war
uniforms.
F
B
F
In
their
best
frock
coats
among
the
men
of
the
54th,
appropriately
Sergeant
William
Carney
carried
the
American
flag,
the
sight
of
him
and
elicited
tears
from
the
onlookers
who
knew
of
his
exploits
in
saving
the
regiment
flag.
During
the
Battle
of
the
work
wagon
Booker
T
Washington
was
the
key
warning
that
the
measure
of
what
this
monument
stands
for
would
not
be.
F
All
are
equal
in
this
country
until
that
time
comes,
he
said
this
monument
will
stand
for
the
effort,
not
the
victory
complete.
What
these
heroic
souls
of
the
54th
regiment
began.
We
must
complete
I
believe
it
has
always
been
the
responsibility
of
the
National
Park
Service
to
give
people
hope,
optimism
and
voice.
The
very
creation
of
a
National
Park
is
an
expression
of
faith
in
the
future.
It
is
a
pact
between
generation,
a
promise
from
the
past
to
the
present
to
the
future.
F
H
If
there's
a
hub
of
the
hub
of
the
universe,
its
Boston
Common
since
1634
Boston
Common
is
the
center
of
our
community,
it's
the
center
of
our
city,
it's
the
center
of
our
Commonwealth
as
the
center
of
what
we
share
as
values.
It's
that
centrality
that
makes
this
monument
so
significant.
This
is
where
we
celebrate.
H
This
is
where
we
recreative
lace
when
there
are
threats
to
our
civilization
that
we
rally
and
that
we
demand
no
more
and
here
today
we're
celebrating
how
powerful
the
imagery
of
this
monument
is
in
relation
to
this
Park
and
what
it
means
to
us.
That's
how
significant
we
feel
about
the
values
of
the
Shaw
54th
l'amore
Frederick
Douglass
said
that
the
Civil
War
was
not
a
mere
contest
over
territory
and
Dominion,
but
a
contest
of
civilization
against
barbarism.
H
That's
what
we
believe
in
Boston!
That's!
Why
here
in
the
shadow
of
the
Statehouse,
we
put
this
monument
to
let
the
world
know
what
we
believe
in
Boston
Club,
it's
an
incredibly
important
space.
It's
not
only
America's
first
Park,
but
it's
our
best
part,
because
it
shows
the
best
of
us
and
to
make
sure
that
that
physical
space
reflects
the
best
of
us.
Mayor
Walsh
over
the
past
few
years
has
invested
not
only
untrim
on-street,
millions
of
dollars
for
Boylston
Street
$700,000,
the
restoration
of
the
soldiers
and
sailors
monument.
I
I
I
just
want
to
take
a
moment
again
just
to
just
introduce
you
to
people
I
think
that's
really
important
that
we
do
I
want
to
thank
Liz
and
all
the
friends,
the
public
garden
for
the
incredible
work
they
do
and
every
day,
but
in
particular,
as
we
move
forward
here
in
the
common.
This
is
really
going
to
be
continue
to
be
a
special
place
and
I
want
to
thank
you
for
you
employed
and
advice,
and
what
you've
done
and
then
for
today.
So
thank
you.
Liz.
I
It's
a
partnership.
It
truly
is
a
partnership.
I
go
to
many
events
where
Michael
were
together
or
Chris
is
with
with
Michael
and
I,
want
to
thank
the
Park
Service
for
what
they
do
for
the
important
when
monuments
in
our
country
that
tell
its
story,
and
here
in
Boston
is,
as
Michael
said
earlier,
the
most
important
is
right
here
come
on.
Thank
you
for
your
service
as
well.
I.
I
I
I
This
is
already
said:
this
is
one
of
the
most
important
pieces
of
art
in
the
United
States
of
America,
and
we
are
deeply
proud
to
have
that
piece
here
in
the
City
of
Austin,
and
we
are
just
as
proud
about
that
history.
It
represents.
It
reminds
us
of
what
is
possible
in
our
city
when
we
live
by
the
highest
ideals.
It's
an
inspiration
in
our
quest
for
equality.
Today,
the
54th
regiment,
as
you
all
know,
was
made
up
of
black
men.
I
I
They
fought
with
bravery
and
distinction
and
they
brought
to
life
the
highest
purpose
of
the
war,
to
make
people
free
and
to
make
our
nation
stronger
by
recognizing
the
talent
and
the
courage
of
all
those
peaceful
Boston
is
proud,
but
we
can't
rest
in
that
pride.
Instead,
we
must
use
that
pride
to
set
a
standard
for
today
and
have
conversations
we
mean
to
reach
that
standard.
That's
what
this
memorial
project
will
help
us.
I
Do
it's
what
the
museum
and
the
Heritage
Trail
helps
us
do,
and
it's
key
to
our
vision
for
arts
and
culture
in
Boston.
We
are
in
the
very
early
stages
of
a
new
wave
of
public
art
in
Boston
in
our
neighborhoods,
as
well
as
in
downtown
we're
planning
a
major
memorial
to
dr.
Martin,
Luther,
King,
jr.
and
Coretta
Scott
King
right
here
on
Boston
Common,
but
also
right
there
in
Roxbury.
I
It's
hockey
we're
talking
to
honestly
Steve
Locke
about
a
memorial
to
the
victims
of
the
slave
trade
at
Faneuil
Hall,
and
we
have
new
mural,
honoring,
African,
American
culture
in
Dorchester
and
Roxbury.
The
restoration
of
this
memorial
will
make
sure
it
remains
a
visible
centerpiece
of
our
city's
public
art,
where
visitors
see
what
we
stand
for.
Will
children
learn
about
their
heritage
and
when
we
hold
our
conversations
that
move
us
forward.
So
I
am
grateful
for
this
partnership.
I
I
I
I
got
elected,
we
had
a
party
and
we're
celebrating
and
I
went
home
and
I
couldn't
sleep.
So
what
I
did
was
I
got
my
car
and
they
drove
up
to
Beacon
Hill
and
I
parked
in
front
of
the
Statehouse
and
to
one
side
a
man
looked
and
I
realized.
I
couldn't
believe
that
the
kid
from
villages,
son
of
immigrants
could
get
elected
to
the
House
representatives
very
excited
and
I.
I
A
So
now
what
we
are
going
to
have
a
ceremony
of
signing
our
memorandum
of
understanding
is
to
underscore
our
commitment
to
this
restoration,
to
the
conversations
to
not
resting
on
any
laurels
that
we
might
have
laid
over
the
years,
but
really
provoking
us
for
the
next
year
and
a
half
about
how
we
can
be
that
more
perfect
union.
A
more
perfect
City.
So
I'd
like
to
invite
our
partners
and
I'd
like
to
invite
our
elected
officials
who
are
here
to
come
up
as
well.
And
we
will
be
signing
this
memorandum
of
understanding.