The Slave Phillip Reed Gets a Plague to Honor His Work

HYATTSVILLE, MD- APRIL 16: (L) The Rev. Wallace Charles Smith is thanked by Andrew Carroll after a prayer and eulogy Smith gave that talked of the sacrifices that slaves such as Phillip Reed made to society. Amateur genealogist Andrew Carroll tracked down the site of a mass grave that holds the remains of Phillip Reed, a slave who was owned by a D.C. foundry owner. Reed poured the bronze that became the Statue of Freedom that sits atop the U.S. Capitol. Carroll spear-headed the effort to place a plaque to honor Reed at the National Harmony Memorial Park in Hyattsville where the mass grave was located. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)Washington Post)