Today’s post is 1200 words, 19 photos, a 6 minute read. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
This week I’ll take you to Montgomery Alabama to experience the Legacy Museum and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park on the banks of the Alabama River. These and other sites were created by the Equal Justice Initiative under the leadership of Bryan Stevenson. These sites confront America’s history of racial injustice, slavery, and mass incarceration.
Missed the last few posts? Click here, here, here, and here to read about our time in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama.
Just Mercy
Before heading off to Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery our Friendship Force Book Club read Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy. This book is a powerful exploration of injustice in the American legal system, told through Stevenson’s experiences as a lawyer defending people who are poor, wrongly convicted, or marginalized. The book centers on the case of Walter McMillian, a Black man wrongly sentenced to death in Alabama, and uses his story to reveal systemic racism, unfair sentencing, and the devastating human cost of mass incarceration. Stevenson argues that mercy, compassion, and understanding are essential to achieving true justice, emphasizing that society must confront its history of inequality and recognize the humanity of those it punishes. I highly recommend putting this book on your TBR (to be read) pile.
This book is both enlightening and challenging to read the stories of people on death row or serving life sentences. While much of the story centered around the justice system in Alabama, there are plenty of examples from other states that wrongly prosecuted or over-sentenced individuals (mostly minorities and/or low socioeconomic status) were poorly treated and under represented by the legal system. We have to do better.
Equal Justice Initiative
Bryan Stevenson founded The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama, a nonprofit organization dedicated to challenging racial and economic injustice in the criminal legal system. EJI provides legal representation to people who have been wrongly convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in prisons and jails, with a particular focus on death penalty cases and excessive punishment. Beyond the courtroom, EJI works to educate the public about the legacy of slavery, lynching, segregation, and mass incarceration through research, advocacy, and landmark cultural sites in Montgomery, including the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum. Through this work, EJI seeks to promote truth, reconciliation, and a more just and equitable society.
The EJI has done a lot to revitalize downtown Montgomery. The museum and other sites have helped to bring in over 500 thousand visitors a year leading to new hotels and other businesses. They have encouraged the development of Court Square and Dexter Avenue including revitalizing historic buildings. Even more importantly, EJI has worked to change the narrative around the history of slavery, lynching, and mass incarceration.
The Legacy Museum
Our lodging in Montgomery was at the Staybridge Suites. After a good nights sleep, coffee, and breakfast, we made the 10 minute walk to The Legacy Museum where we had a 9 AM timed entry. The late October day was bright and sunny but a little on chilly side.
We arrived a few minutes early and viewed the memorial outside the museum with the names of African Americans who died by lynching during Reconstruction, 1865 to 1876. We would see more about the victims of lynching at The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Stay tuned next week for a visit to that EJI site.
At the ticket kiosk, I presented our timed entry confirmation that included payment for the $5.00 per person ticket fee. This ticket was good for all three of the Legacy sites. We had to check our bags and backpacks. We were informed at security that photos or videos were not allowed in the museum. Although I did see some people snapping photos, I did not. There were staff members stationed in all the exhibit rooms to answer questions and safeguard the exhibits.
The Legacy Museum opened in 2018 in a former slave warehouse and slave auction site near the Alabama River. Since its opening it has been expanded to include more exhibits and displays. 
We spent about 3 1/2 hours in the museum beginning with the Middle Passage, the brutal and deadly sea journey African slaves made across the to the Americas. The exhibit went through the slave period up through the Civil War. The post-war period as African Americans fought for their freedom to vote and equality enduring racism along the way. The fourth part of the museum exhibits focused on the mass incarceration. The last exhibit was art work associated with the museum theme.
Along the walk through the museum, the visuals, videos, photos and exhibits were so well done. It’s hard to describe without the benefit of photos. It was both sobering and educational. I learned a lot. Here are some memories:
- The sound and visual of ocean waves to honor those enslaved persons buried at sea
- The ghosts of slaves behind bars
- The video and audio of incarcerated telling their story
- The many videos in the small intimate theaters
- The jars of soil from the places where African Americans were lynched
- The art gallery at the end of museum, very impressive
- The friendly, attentive staff
In the museum complex is a restaurant that serves southern home cooking. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and discussed what we had just seen. There is a lot to process.
Freedom Monument Sculpture Park
After lunch, we took the free shuttle bus from The Legacy Museum to the boat landing where we would walk down to the Alabama River to board a boat to take us to the Sculpture Park. This was the same route that slaves bound for Montgomery took to arrive at the slave auction. 
We caught our breath from walking up from the river landing to the entrance of the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. This 17 acre site opened in 2024. There are sculptures and artwork along the path through the garden. Photography and video was only allowed at the entrance and at the exhibits at near the end of the walking path.
As we walked along, we listened to stories of the enslaved peoples. We saw their homes, shacks really. And we saw the work of artisans that told the story of the people, their struggles and their resilience.
At the National Monument to Freedom the 122,000 surnames adopted by former slaves were engraved into the wall. 
These names of African American’s came from the 1870 U.S. census. While in slavery, they only had first names. 
Facing the monument was this sculpture of an African American family.
The very last exhibit was this water feature with the inscription “free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty I’m Free at Last.” 
We spent about two hours walking through the Sculpture Park, We caught the shuttle back to The Legacy Museum then walked back to the hotel. It was a great but exhausting day. I think my brain used more energy than my feet! There was a lot to think about. More on that next week.
Next week, I’ll take you on a tour of Montgomery with Jake.
THE FIVE SENSES PLUS ONE
Saw – exhibits, video, audio stories, statues, artwork, rail cars, slave quarters, monument
Heard – trains, boat motor, people talking, traffic
Touch – the walls of the slave quarters and the monument
Smell – fresh air, water
Taste – fried chicken, creamed corn, sweet potatoes, pecan pie
Learned – so much more about slavery, the reconstruction, the civil rights movement, mass incarceration
Until next week, happy travels!
Tom
PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM