“Circle of Chains” memorial by Steven Whyte in Tallahassee. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix).
Nearly eight years after the Florida Legislature approved a memorial recognizing the inhumanity of slavery, a dedication ceremony for a bronze sculpture called “Circle of Chains,” organized by the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, took place Tuesday across the street from the Capitol.
The life-sized sculpture features six enslaved people held in chains, and was created by Carmel, Calif., sculptor Steven Whyte.
The Legislature approved the memorial during the 2018 legislative session. Miami-Dade Democrat Kionne McGhee sponsored the measure in the House, and Tampa Bay-area Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson carried it in the Senate. The bill charged the Department of Management Services with developing its design and placement, allocating $400,000 for its fabrication.
Whyte was selected by review committee members who called on artists to recognize “the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the American colonies and to honor the nameless and forgotten men, women, and children who have gone unrecognized for their undeniable and weighty contributions to the United States.”
“It tells every child that walks past it that your story matters, your struggle maters, your contribution matters. It tells every visitor this nation was built by many hands, and every hand deserves honor,” Rouson said, kicking off the half-hour event. “America’s greatness is not found in denying its history, but in having the courage to face it and the wisdom to grow from it. “
Democratic Reps. Felicia Robinson from Miami Gardens and RaShon Young from Orlando also spoke during the event.
“Father, we acknowledge that these chains represent the suffering of enslaved people,” Young said as a prayer.
“The stolen names, the broken families, the bodies worked beyond dignity and the generations across the diaspora marked by trauma. Yet we are sustained by your grace. And so let this memorial be more than a symbol. Let it be a stirring of conscience for every legislator and leader gathered here on these grounds and who are sitting in the building behind us. For every advocate and partner in progress who does not just remember but who responds, not just to honor the past, but to do justice in the present.”
The event featured Tallahassee R&B, Gospel, and Southern Soul singer Anthony Williams singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “Amazing Grace.”
Central Florida Democratic Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis finished the presentation with an original piece she entitled, “We Remember” that was inspired by the Circle of Chains monument.
“Six figures. Six chapters. Six voices. Six stories, carried before they were ever written,” she said, referring to the individuals depicted in the monument.
“Six truths passed mouth to mouth when paper was denied. Six testimonials that history tried to flatten, to remain or to leave unfinished. Six witnesses where silence once stood. Six reminders that memory is not linear, it is layered. It is circular. It returns. These figures do not compete with one another. They testify together. They do not ask to be interpreted, they insist on being remembered.”
The ceremony took place nearly nine months after the monument was originally installed in April 2025. Several lawmakers told the Phoenix last summer that they weren’t even aware of its installation. Sen. Rouson, chair of the Black Caucus, said he had been informed by state officials that they wanted to install surveillance cameras on the property before making any formal announcement.
Along with a number of Democrats at the event, Jacksonville Republican House member Wyman Duggan was also in attendance. “This is an important part of our state’s history and our common shared experience as Floridians, and I wouldn’t miss it,” he said.