United Nations Slavery Memorial

The Ark of Return stands on the Visitors Plaza as a permanent monument to the millions of people who suffered through the transatlantic slave trade. Architect Rodney Leon designed the structure to evoke the shape of a slave ship, utilizing white marble panels arranged in a triangular form that represents the historic triangular trade routes across the Atlantic. The name itself is a deliberate contrast to the Door of No Return at a slave castle on Gorée Island in Senegal, serving as a spiritual place of return for the memory of those who were lost.