TRAVEL—The Equal Justice Initiative teaches the history of African-Americans from enslavement to mass incarceration

Picture provided by the Equal Justice Initiative

The Equal Justice Initiative champions the recognition of the oppressive and difficult history African-Americans have experienced in the United States with their two sites, The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice located in Montgomery, Alabama.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.— Entering the Legacy Museum, patrons are surrounded by projections of waves on the walls. The waves crash high above the sight line and the sounds of the swirling ocean envelop the room. 

Words fade in over the ocean projection describing the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. As the words continually appear and wash away, the audience is beckoned to continue through the museum. 

The next area is a long, hallway. Lining both sides of the straight walkway is numerous bust statues of  African men, women and children looking up toward the viewer frozen in a somber, desperate moment. 

As viewers traverse between the rows of statues, the uneven stone and ocean sensations from before remind the audience of the final resting place of Africans stolen from their homes for slavery.

The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration tells the story of injustices done to Africans and African-Americans in United States. In addition to the museum is the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, an outdoor site dedicated to recognizing and remembering victims of racial lynching.

Both sites are the work of the Equal Justice Initiative. EJI was founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson,  a public interest lawyer and author of "Just Mercy." 

The goal of all EJI does is to "tell the truth about our history," said Tera DuVernay, deputy director of museum and memorial operations at EJI. "It's important to shine a light to be able to move past it."

DuVernay said visitors will leave "more knowledgeable" and inspired that "they can become the instrument of change."  

The museum and memorial are located in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery Chamber of Commerce Chief Officer of Destination and Community Ron Simmons said in Montgomery you can see the history from enslavement to the Civil War to the Civil Rights from "one spot" in downtown. "You get all of that history standing in one spot." 

 There's no street corner or alleyway in Montgomery that didn’t witness the terrors of racial oppression or the triumphs of the Civil Rights movement. The Legacy Museum sits on a former slave auction block, a true recognition of the transformation that happened in Montgomery. 

The Legacy Museum follows the various systems of oppression done onto African-Americans. The museum uses art instillations, historical artifacts, interactive media and accounts of African-Americans who suffered through slavery and are currently subject to mass incarceration. 

One exhibit has viewers standing before tall, skinny caged cells where holograms of actors account the experiences of African men, women and children waiting to stand before the auction block. A mother asks the viewers where her children are. A man recounts being separated from his family to be sold. A woman sings a prayer to the heavens before she stands on the auction block. Two children ask if the viewers have seen their mother. 

Throughout the museum several senses are activated in each exhibit to create an intimate experience to navigate. For Betsy Hosp, a Montgomery resident and two-time visitor to the museum, the "sensory experience" was key to the impact it had on her. "It engages all the senses, so I think that for any person whatever kind of learner you are, I think that it really taps into that. It's very somber-ing. It's very awakening. It's very enlightening."  

Many of the exhibits resonate powerfully with viewers. Simmons continues to be impacted by a display of banners that advertise African-American men, women and children for sale on the same pages as livestock. These advertisements would expound the virtues of strength and never needing to be hit as reasons for high prices.

 "I'm a big guy, and I've got two sons and they're big guys, and they play college ball. I know what we've would been sold for; we've would've been field hands." said Simmons. "Every time I pass by that, it bothers me." 

In addition to The Legacy Museum patrons can visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice with their ticket. Patrons can either take a 20 minute stroll amongst the rest of the history of Montgomery or taking a shuttle provided to patrons to the memorial. 

The memorial is the six-acre home to a site that honors the victims of slavery, lynching and racial terror. The memorial is a "real place of "peace and silence” for DuVernay. "I feel my ancestors feeling proud that they were finally acknowledged. That someone finally told their story. That they were honored in that space."

The site hosts statues created to portray different eras of struggle and inequality of African-Americans. At the center of the site is a spiraling two-story, maze made of 800 steel, 6 foot monuments. The steel columns both sit on the ground before and suspend above viewers surrounding them with the carved names of racial terror lynching victims from 12 states. 

At the end of the massive statue instillation is a waterfall. Inscribed across the wall of the waterfall is a message recognizing the countless unknown victims of racial terror. In front of the waterfall is a collection of soil piled into a waist-high, rectangular glass case. The mixture of red, brown and black soil is the earth where recorded racial terror lynchings took place. 

The collection of the soil is a part of EJI's Community Remembrance Project. Soil is gathered from known lynching sites by community members to be displayed in the museum and memorial. DuVernay said the goal of the project is to "honor that life, honor that situation. It's healing for the community." 

The Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice put Montgomery on the map “overnight,” according to Simmons. The museum and memorial has bolstered other Black history sites, small businesses and restaurants. It has brought in "young talent to work, live and play,” Simmons said. "Montgomery has become a destination, a true international destination for visitors."   

The boom of economic development is a positive effect on Montgomery, but  that is not the best thing about what EJI does for Montgomery.  "We don't need to focus on that , and then miss the purpose EJI is striving for and that is social justice. And that's what I think we need to keep our eyes on." Simmons said. 

Tickets can be purchased for the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice can be purchased on EJI's website. A limited number of tickets are also available the day of at the museum. The museum and memorial are open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last entry to the museum is at 4 p.m., and the last entry to the memorial is at 4:30 p.m.