LOUISVILLE, Ky. — “On the Banks of Freedom” is the (Un)Known Project’s first art installation to honor the lives of enslaved people of Kentucky.

The (Un)known Project is a collaboration of organizations dedicated to raising awareness about racism and inequality including IDEAS xLab, Roots 101, Frazier Museum and the Louisville Metro Government. 

It was first crafted two years ago when artist Hannah Drake found 8 lynched slaves listed as unknown. 

“I just couldn’t imagine existing in the world and now being labeled as unknown. I just wanted to find people that were enslaved in Kentucky,” Drake said. 

Overlooking the Ohio River, “On the Banks of Freedom” has poems, footprints and names of enslaved Kentuckians engraved in the ground and on benches.

It was unveiled after A Journey In Our Footprints Walk along the river on Juneteenth. 

"Indiana was a free state and Kentucky was a slave state and the Ohio River clearly separates the two, so many people who were enslaved tried to get across the Ohio River and escape to freedom,” Drake said. 

The project designed to remember lives lived decades ago mirrors recent efforts. 

“Breonna Taylor’s name would have been a forgotten name to history but for people taking the time to acknowledge that this black young lady did exist, so we were trying to repeat the very same thing that we have done to enslaved people whose names we just don’t know,” Drake said. 

Finding the names of slaves took the help of the community. People sent in names of ancestors and Drake is asking descendants of slave owners to speak up. 

“If your family has enslaved black people then it is time for you to release the names. The only way this state even starts to heal is by admitting the truth,” Drake said. 

Jefferson County Public Schools student Sage Snyder shared a poem about the project and it’s also engraved in a piece of the monument. 

"I'm very glad to be part of such an historical moment. I think it’s truly amazing and think that it’s something we should definitely remember,” Snyder said.

In her poem Snyder wrote, “Say their names and listen to what you hear. It is time for their legacies to appear.”

“It’s really good that people’s legacies who were slaves who might not have been remembered before can now finally be remembered,” Snyder said. 

Once complete, the project will include Louisville’s history and heritage through different forms of art. There will also be exhibits at Roots 101 and the Frazier Museum.