HAMPTON, Va. — A memorial that will commemorate the first landing of enslaved Africans in Virginia will hold a dedication ceremony on Friday.
News 3 reporter Colter Anstaett will attend and cover the African Landing Memorial Plaza dedication in Fort Monroe. The event will begin at 3 p.m.
The first Africans — who were forcibly brought to Virginia in the early 17th century — were kidnapped from the region of West Central Africa. Their arrival in 1619 marked an early chapter in what would become the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
"The African Landing Memorial at Fort Monroe seeks to interpret this historical event beginning with the origins of the people—what their life might have been like prior to their abduction, the journey across thousands of miles of ocean– to their landing at Point Comfort and the lives they made for themselves," the 1619 Landing website reads.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is set to deliver remarks at the memorial dedication.
Watch previous coverage: African Landing Memorial at Fort Monroe honors enslaved Africans and descendants
Back in 2024, News 3 anchor Jessica Larché spoke with Wanda Tucker, a descendant of the first Africans to arrive in English North America in 1619 at Point Comfort, which is now Fort Monroe. Tucker detailed the oral history of her family, which has been passed down for over 400 years.
Tucker said she is a descendant of Antony and Isabella, two of the nearly 20 enslaved Africans who arrived on the White Lion privateer ship at Point Comfort in 1619. The Africans were kidnapped from their homeland in the African country of Angola by European slave traders. When they arrived at Point Comfort, they were sold to enslavers in the Virginia colony.
“It’s emotional. It’s powerful. It rises up in me,” Tucker said. “Knowing where I’ve come from is a gift, because so many African Americans cannot connect their lineage.”
Historic records reveal Antony and Isabella were sold to Captain William Tucker, the commander of Point Comfort. According to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Antony and Isabella gave birth to a baby boy named William, after their enslaver, in 1624.
Tucker and her family have partnered with the Fort Monroe Authority and the Fort Monroe National Monument to offer input and perspective on the development of the future African Landing Memorial.
