Say Their Names NYC
A digital monument in Central Park honoring 212 lives lost to racial injustice
Gaidi Finnie of the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art did not have permission to create a permanent monument at the Central Park site. The original physical monuments were stored in San Diego, and their weight made shipping them to New York prohibitively expensive. Augmented reality offered a way to bring the memorial to the site. Say Their Names placed 53 virtual pillars, each with four names and portraits, honoring 212 people who lost their lives to racial injustice and systemic violence. The Membit app invited visitors to open each person’s story with an info button, circle a pillar while recording themselves speaking its four names aloud, and share the video with #SayTheirNamesMemorialNYC.
Opened September 17, 2022, in Central Park’s historic Seneca Village section near West 85th Street.
Original 3D modeling: Arizona State University Digital Humanities Lab
3D model modification: Membit
Conceptual Framework
Say Their Names NYC is a site-specific memorial whose form includes the visitor’s movement, voice, and act of remembrance. In the Seneca Village section of Central Park, the virtual pillars brought individual photographs and stories into a shared public setting. Walking around a pillar, speaking the names aloud, and recording that encounter made viewing a social ritual, extending the memorial into the videos people chose to share.
The work asks how an interface can support collective remembrance and carry individual stories into public attention. My immersive experience design connected the site, spatial arrangement, story access, and recording ritual. That work rested on research and image gathering by the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art, original 3D modeling by Arizona State University’s Digital Humanities Lab, and model modification by Membit.
Bibliography
- Claretta Bellamy. “NYC to host landmark exhibition honoring Black lives lost to racial injustice.” NBC News, NBCBLK. September 6, 2022.
- Erica Byfield. [News report on the Say Their Names NYC augmented-reality memorial]. WNBC / NBC 4 New York. 2022. Archived recording labeled September 18, 2022.
- Aaron Ginsburg. “Memorial honoring Black lives lost to acts of racism will open in Central Park.” 6sqft. September 7, 2022.
- TheGrio Staff. “‘Say Their Names,’ memorial honoring Black people killed by racism, debuts in NYC.” TheGrio. September 7, 2022.
- PIX11 News (WPIX-TV New York). “Virtual Memorial Honors Black Lives in Central Park.” PIX11 News. September 17, 2022. Citation supplied in the project portfolio; title and broadcast date unverified.