Social Justice in Montgomery Alabama
Depending on your frame of reference, when you hear Alabama, you may think of “Sweet Home Alabama”, the first rocket that sent people to the moon, the only state with the resources to make iron and steel. Or, if you are like me, you think of the Civil Rights movement. Our visit to Montgomery, Alabama was serendipity at its best. We were able to visit the Rosa Parks Museum and Library. And, The Equal Justice Initiative opened The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration in April 2018, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice was opened in the summer of 2018.
Alabama has a long history of slavery, racial tension, violence and segregation. In 1860 Montgomery was the capital of the domestic slave trade in America, and in the 1830s actually outlawed free blacks from living in Alabama. In fact, to this day, the Alabama constitution still supports segregation in spite of the Supreme Court decisions to the contrary. So it is more than fitting that this amazing museum and memorial are in Montgomery.
The Rosa Parks Museum chronicles how her refusal to give up her seat on the bus to a white man not only got her arrested, but sparked a boycott and national movement. The museum is really set up for school children, with a bus that is a time machine and showcases the events that led up to her protest. Just because you are an adult does not mean you won’t enjoy it. In fact, many adults might benefit from the approach!
The Legacy Museum is not just a history of slavery and segregation. It is also a critical view at our criminal justice system as a continued racial inequity. The interactive displays and interviews force the visitor to confront and feel the injustice. The memorial is a large, outdoor geometric display with haunting sculptures (https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/ )that reminded me very much of the Holocaust memorial in Berlin ( https://www.stiftung-denkmal.de/startseite.html). With the continuing racial strife in our nation, it was a painful reminder not just of where we were, but how far we have to go.
