This year at Christmas, give a gift to honor the legacy of the United States Colored Troops

The USCT Public Sculpture Project at CAM is timely and necessary, as our nation looks closely at issues of race and systemic racism. On the museum’s grounds is the site of the Battle of Forks Road, a Civil War skirmish whose victory was won by USCT soldiers and led to the fall of Wilmington, the Confederacy’s last seaport. After the war many of these African American soldiers stayed to settle, raise their families, and build community. Their impact is significant, yet the story is virtually unknown.

Give a gift to be a part of history

Stephen Hayes’s striking new sculpture will be installed in the fall of 2021. The life-size bronze (9 ft x 11 ft x 3 ft) sculpture itself is fashioned from the cast features of 11 African American men connected to the site and its story -- USCT descendants, re-enactors, veterans, and community leaders. The sculpture is connected deeply to the community’s history, its present, and its future.

You can purchase a paver now in honor of a loved one to help to make this project possible. Their name and your message will become a permanent part of this important outdoor site.

Purchase Pavers

Corporate Logo

8x8 Brick

$1000

Your corporate logo and 1-4 lines of text permanently engraved on a paver at the public sculpture site.
Invitation to sculpture installation in November 2021

8x8 Brick

$500

1-4 lines of text permanently engraved on a paver at the public sculpture site.
Invitation to sculpture installation in November 2021

4x8 Brick

$250

11-3 lines of text permanently engraved on a paver at the public sculpture site.
Invitation to sculpture installation in November 2021

For more information, please contact John McDonnell, Development Director john@cameronartmuseum.org or 910.395.5999 ext. 1010 or Heather Wilson, Deputy Director deputydirector@cameronartmuseum.org or 910.395.5999 ext. 1003

About the artist

Durham-born artist Stephen Hayes teaches at Duke University. He is known for his figurative work, specifically depicting the African American experience. Hayes is best known for his MFA thesis work from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Cash Crop. Cash Crop features 15 life-size statues chained to a pallet, representing the 15 million people who were transported as slaves from Africa to America. Hayes’s work has been featured at the National Cathedral, Winston Salem State University, Duke University, CAM Raleigh, Rosa Parks Museum, African American Museum of Philadelphia, and Harvey B. Gantt Center, among others. He is the recipient of the 2019 North Carolina Arts Council Emerging Artist Award.

Artist Stephen Hayes says, “As a black man in America, I see the imagery of a Black person in chains, being whipped, begging, kneeling, and helpless. This project is important to me because, as a creator, I get to change that narrative—by giving Black soldiers a sense of honor and pride.”

CameronArtMuseum.org

This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.