The memorial, designed to pay homage to millions of black people who suffered as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, is projected to cost US$ 3.5 million and will be completed in 2012.
The move to establish the memorial was made known on Wednesday at the UN headquarters in New York, at the investiture of US hip-hop pioneer, Russell Simmons, as the UN Goodwill Ambassador to promote a permanent memorial for victims of slavery.
As ambassador, Simmons told UN reporters that he would bring visibility to the memorial project, by helping to raise money and educate future generations about the lasting effects of slavery in contemporary society.
"All the same lessons of life are said over and over again by different prophets in different languages at different times,'' Simmons said.
He added that, "hopefully the new language (of hip-hop) can frame some of these same lessons in ways that will be easier to digest by the next generation''.
Simmons is founder of the clothing label Phat Farm and is co-founder of the pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam, which has put out legendary American artists such as Nas, Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.
He described his appointment as a "humbling moment'' and said the UN recognition of the victims from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was "a long time coming''.
New York - 21/05/2009
Pana
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