On Tuesday bronze and granite pieces of a memorial sculpture was quietly and unceremoniously lowered into place on the Southern lawn of the Texas Capitol building. Two decades of hard work led to this seemingly low-key moment. The beginning of the installation of an African-American monument proposed by Denver-based sculptor Ed Dwight.

The Texas African-American history memorial will stand tall at 27ft, 32 ft long and is close to the Capitol’s main entrance.

The Texas Tribune reported:

One side of the monument, which will be completely installed by mid-October, depicts 48 slaves and marks the moment that slaves were emancipated in Texas. The other points to the state’s abundant cattle, cotton and oil resources and the contributions black Texans made to those industries. Plaques and other features still need to be added to the monument.

A public dedication and unveiling of the monument will occur this fall after its completion, according to a spokesman for the State Preservation Board.

Dwight said the planning and construction wasn’t easy; state lawmakers had trouble obtaining funding for the project. He’s been working on the project for six years, he said, longer than any of his previous projects.

“All of the things that go on to get things done seem to all wash away when they pull the curtain back and see what’s there,” he said.

The Texas monument is one of dozens of public sculptures Dwight has created to bring attention to black history across the country. He created the African-American History Monument on South Carolina’s Capitol grounds, which was unveiled in 2001.

It’s great to see the hard work of a few people pay off in what is an important symbol. Of course, this is Texas, and sadly a monument and a tiny bit of recognition won’t reverse some of the more horrific things happening like the Texas school curriculum’s erasing of the history of slavery! The attitude of many racist dwellers and the actions of police.

Read more about the monument here.