National Monument Honoring Enslaved Black People Set to Open

A new monument and sculpture park honoring 10 million enslaved Black people in the United States is opening next week in Montgomery, Alabama.

Why it matters: The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park and National Monument to Freedom will become the closest the U.S. has to a national monument to the victims of enslavement.

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Zoom in: Advocacy group Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) announced the project — which will be part of its Legacy Sites — will open Wednesday after years of planning.

• The 17-acre site combines historical artifacts, contemporary art, original research, and first-person narratives to explore the institution of slavery, the lives of enslaved people, and the legacy of slavery in the U.S.
• The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park will have structures and totems, including 170-year-old dwellings from cotton plantations and bricks made by enslaved people 175 years ago.

The National Monument to Freedom, standing 43 feet tall and 155 feet long, sits at the end of the Sculpture Park.

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Zoom out: Freedom Monument Sculpture Park and National Monument to Freedom will be part of EJI’s Legacy Sites, which currently include The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery.

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