Slavery lasted centuries for African Americans in the United States. Even after it ended, black people still suffered harassment, segregation and lynching.
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice was built to recognize this history. Located in Montgomey, Alabama, its the first memorial to focus on lynching in America. The belief is that in order for America to heal from its dark past, it must be confronted head on, so it will never happen again.
4400 lynchings took place in America between 1877 to 1950. African Americans were publicly hung, killed and tortured. Many acts of racial terrorism went undocumented and ignored by government authorities. The museum’s 800 steel monuments represent counties where lynchings occurred.
Each one has the names of the people murdered there inscribed upon them. They hang from the ceiling to confront the horrors of lynching head-on. In addition to murdering thousands of people, lynchings had a longer-lasting effect. They led to further economic and social segregation for the black community. And caused psychological trauma for generations of families afterwards. With this memorial, America can continue to learn from their past mistakes. Without hiding from them.
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