Montgomery, Ala.: A State Capitol Full of Historic Significance

 

AAE recently visited Montgomery, Ala., to explore some of its cultural and historic sites. The city has been a key site in the fight for civil and human rights in the American South. Pictured above is part of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The site, which opened in 2018, is a six-acre plot that memorializes victims of deadly racial violence carried out against Black and Brown people for nearly 100 years. The victims were hanged, burned alive, beaten, drowned and shot, often by angry White mobs who sought to maintain a reign of terror over people of color. Many of the victims were falsely accused of crimes or were charged with highly questionable offenses, and in most cases they were not given anything remotely resembling a fair trial. This memorial is the first in America to acknowledge the victims of racial terror lynchings. 

The memorial's website describes it as a "sacred space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terror in America and its legacy." A companion site a few miles away in Montgomery's downtown area is the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration. The site, on the site of a former warehouse where enslaved Black people were held, tells the story of the oppression and terrorism that African-Americans have endured throughout the history of this nation. 

This inscription at the Peace and Justice Memorial reads: Black and brown people in the United States often are presumed dangerous and guilty when they have done nothing wrong. Our history of racial inequality has created conscious and unconscious bias that has resulted in racial discrimination against people of color by law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Police shootings of unarmed men, women and children, racially biased and excessive sentencing of people convicted of crimes, and abusive prison conditions make mass incarceration a dominant issue for the poor and people of color. 

Montgomery is also home to the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, which was the first church that Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor. The church played a pivotal role in the civil and human rights movement by serving as a base of operations for the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott, which forced the city's public transportation system to serve Black passengers in the same way that Whites were served. 

Pictured is the state Capitol of Alabama, which features many historic markers that commemorate the state's progress and economic, social and political milestones.