place

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park

2021 establishments in AlabamaAfrican-American historic placesAfrican-American museums in AlabamaBuildings and structures in Montgomery, AlabamaCommunity Remembrance Project
Cultural tourismHistory of slavery in AlabamaLynching memorialsMonuments and memorials in AlabamaMuseums in Montgomery, AlabamaSlavery memorials in the United StatesTourist attractions in Montgomery County, AlabamaUse mdy dates from March 2025

The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama, is the most recent of the three "Legacy sites" developed by the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative. Starting in 2021, EJI acquired 17 acres in Montgomery on the Alabama River to erect the National Monument to Freedom, a 43 feet tall, 155 feet long wall depicting 122,000 surnames adopted by the 4.7 million formerly enslaved African Americans listed on the 1870 United States census, the first census to list African Americans entirely as free people. QR codes on display near the monument allow visitors to find other African Americans listed in later censuses with the same surname. The park includes 170-year-old dwellings from nearby cotton plantations, objects made by enslaved persons, replicas of rail cars and holding pens, and audio recordings of people speaking in the Muscogee language, the language of the indigenous people of the park's area. The park also includes various sculptures created by Charles Gaines, Alison Saar, and Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu, Rose B. Simpson, Theaster Gates, Kehinde Wiley, and Hank Willis Thomas. The park opened on March 27, 2024. Stevenson stated to W that the idea was inspired by his 2021 visit to a former slave plantation (his first visit to any plantation), which he felt marginalized the slave experience in favor of the slaveowner's mansion's architecture. A visit to the park begins when visitors are taken across the Alabama River, the same route that enslaved Africans took to get to downtown Montgomery where enslaved families were split up and sold.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Freedom Monument Sculpture Park (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park
Lafayette Street, Montgomery

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Freedom Monument Sculpture ParkContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 32.38935 ° E -86.31352 °
placeShow on map

Address

Lafayette Street 867
36104 Montgomery
Alabama, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Share experience

Nearby Places

Capitol City Plume Superfund site

The Capitol City Plume, which also is referred to as the Capital City Plume, is an area of contaminated groundwater located beneath the western downtown area of Montgomery, Alabama. The contamination was discovered in 1993 by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) which was investigating soil contamination at the Retirement Systems of Alabama Energy Plant in the city. After assessment by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it was proposed for inclusion in the National Priorities List (NPL) in May 2000. The City of Montgomery managed to keep the site off of the NPL, eliminating the possibility that it could be labeled a superfund site, by taking fiscal responsibility for the site and its cleanup. The mayor of Montgomery called for a creation of the Downtown Environmental Alliance (Alliance), which would be responsible for planning and undertaking the cleanup costs of the contaminated site. The agreement between the City of Montgomery and the EPA is historically significant and groundbreaking because the parties who are going to pay for the cleanup costs have voluntarily joined the Alliance. The city of Montgomery serves as a model to other cities when faced with similar situations. The site does not affect drinking water. The ongoing assessment will evaluate the potential for soil vapor intrusion. From October 1, 2015, to November 15, 2015, nominations were being accepted for 10 membership spots in a Community Outreach Group (COG). COG will work with the Alliance and the local community as changes continue to be discussed and implemented. The 10 members of the COG will attend community meetings and aid in generating ideas on how to move forward with the plume site.