Tomorrow Project Challenges
Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, originally called "Liberty Enlightening the World," has stood as a symbol of freedom and hope since its dedication in 1886. And now? What is the message the U.S. is sending the world?
[Statue of Liberty, Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress]
The Statue of Liberty, designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was a gift from France to the United States in 1886, commemorating the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution and the centennial of American independence and the abolition of slavery.
Over the years, the statue became a global symbol of freedom, particularly for immigrants seeking a better life in America. From her station in Manhattan's Upper New York Bay, the statue stands as a beacon of hope. In an inner wall of the statue's pedestal, words from Emma Lazarus's famous sonnet of 1883 are inscribed on a bronze plaque that was installed there in 1903:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Consider this iconic statue and how her torch has lit the way for so many. Is America letting her down? How can America regain its place as a beacon of hope?
More information:
- National Park Service's Statue of Liberty website: https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm
- Who was Emma Lazarus? https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emma-lazarus