National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Alabama, United States

5Clemente71 5:00 PM Feb 23, 2023

A well done, thought provoking memorial to victims of lynching
The Museum tickets also included a ticket to the Memorial. I found the memorial far more interesting. This is not a criticism of the museum, but I tend to appreciate memorials and the thought, sybolism behind them. A shuttle from the museum can take you to the memorial site. This encompasses six acres. As you start your walk you ar esentially walking along a wall that in some ways reminded me of the Vietnam War Memorial. The labeling that occurs intermittently keeps your focus away from the memorial until you make the last turn. Probably not a bad idea since from a distance the memorial does not look that impressive. However, as you start to move through the what comes across as a maze of iron structures that denote various lynchings by location. You figure out that the rows are arranged by alpha order by state (starts all over again with each new row). To me this maze like structure symbolized an inability to get away from the topic. A double meaning-you as a visitor cannot get away from the reality you are confronting and African-Americans in the time frame could not escape this reality. In addition, the iron bars are at first at your level, but as you move through they become increasingly elevated (like they are hanging from trees). I think the other thing that the artist was trying to convey was scale-the sheer number of victims. As you wander through near the end there is a waterfall with quotes and a guide there to not only asnwer questions, but to help inividuals reflect. As you move your way to leave there are replicas of historical markers that have been put up around the country to recongize the victims of lynching. I was a little surprised to find one from Denver as well as being drawn to one in the city where I grew up (Charlottesville, Va.). I took a little more of an intellectual approach trying to figure out the intentions of the artist (perhaps because I was already emotionally drained from the museum, but this was definitely a well done memorial, but also a moving one.

5hrobinson1114 5:00 PM Oct 6, 2022

Sobering, poignant, must see
A poignant, sobering monument everyone should see. If you have a heart or soul, you will leave here feeling heavy and tearful, rightfully so. This monument pays homage to the thousands of named and unnamed lynching victims in the United States. I spent about an hour here, but I can see this as a place to return over and over for reflection and to pay homage. Many different sculptures and ways to learn about the blood-stained history of our country. We should all see this type of thing, so we can move forward and do better. Entry is only five dollars, and it’s a joint ticket with the Legacy Museum (reviewed separately). You do have to go through security. Restrooms on site. You can buy tickets on site, but I bought mine online, which was more convenient and saved time. Staff pleasant and helpful. Plenty of parking on site. And the Legacy Museum has a shuttle that runs regularly between the monument/park and museum. Somber and important to see.