Three statues and three 10-foot-high stone slabs (one foot for each of the 10 years of legalized slavery in Utah between 1852 and 1862) represent the contributions of all Black pioneers in the settling of Utah and are intended to create a place of learning, reflection and healing.
Three of those featured at the monument — Green Flake and his brothers-in-law, Hark Wales and Oscar Smith — were in the vanguard group of pioneers who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847. The fourth, Jane Elizabeth Manning James, came in September 1847.
The Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the monument on July 22, 2022.
To learn more visit:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-ballard-dedicates-monument-black-pioneers
