Source: JIM WATSON / Getty
Former President Donald Trump has unveiled plans to honor several Black American icons with statues in the National Garden of American Heroes. Speaking at a Black History Month ceremony at the White House, Trump detailed the inclusion of legendary athletes, civil rights leaders, and cultural figures in the memorial project.
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Among the honorees are late NBA star Kobe Bryant, boxing legend Muhammad Ali, and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, who famously broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. These sports icons will be commemorated alongside civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, Coretta Scott King, Billie Holiday, and Aretha Franklin.
The National Garden of American Heroes, first introduced by Trump in 2020, is designed to celebrate figures who made significant contributions to American history. Planned for a site on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the garden will feature statues, busts, and plaques honoring individuals from various fields.
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“We’re picking the final sites now. It’s between various states that want it very badly,” Trump said during the ceremony. “We’ll honor hundreds of our greatest Americans to ever live, including countless Black American icons.”
He emphasized that the garden will prominently feature trailblazing women such as Tubman, Parks, Holiday, Franklin, and Coretta Scott King, drawing applause from the audience.
Trump recently modified his original executive order on the garden’s development, removing the initial goal of completing it by July 4, 2026. Instead, he now urges that it be finished “as expeditiously as possible.”
Beyond honoring influential women, Trump also acknowledged the achievements of Black men whose contributions shaped American history. “We’re going to produce some of the most beautiful works of art in the form of a statue for men like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson—what a great athlete he was—Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali,” he said, before adding, “And the late Kobe Bryant.”
The initiative aims to recognize civil rights activists, pioneering athletes, and world-renowned artists who made history during periods of segregation and social change. In his 2021 executive order, Trump described the garden’s purpose: “The National Garden will be built to reflect the awesome splendor of our country’s timeless exceptionalism. It will be a place where citizens, young and old, can renew their vision of greatness.”
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Bryant, a celebrated NBA and Olympic champion, is the most recently deceased individual to be honored, underscoring the project’s effort to preserve legacies that continue to inspire future generations.
“During Black History Month, we pay tribute to these heroes and to so many others—not simply because they’re Black heroes, but because they are truly American heroes who inspire all of us,” Trump said.
His announcement comes amid ongoing debates surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, following recent executive orders limiting such initiatives in federal agencies, public education, and the military. Despite the controversy, the National Garden of American Heroes is set to serve as a lasting tribute to individuals who helped shape American history.
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