The Wake is a planned sculpture by Khaleb Brooks that will be a memorial to the victims of the Atlantic slave trade.[1] It will be sited on West India Quay in East London and is intended to be completed in 2026.[1]
Brooks's design was chosen from a shortlist of six by a panel of judges.[1] They said that "When we talk about the transatlantic slave trade we're speaking to people’s history and not just black people’s histories ... It's everyone's history on this land, no matter what our involvement was".[1] The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the sculpture was a "stark reminder of the pain and suffering caused by transatlantic slavery and the role the UK and London played" and that it was " ... essential that London’s streets, statues and memorials reflect our shared history, and this memorial will help to remind and educate Londoners of the capital’s role in this terrible treatment of human beings".[1] The memorial was announced on the Unesco International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on 23 August 2024.[1]