Rep. Sewell Statement on the Unveiling of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL

Statement

On Thursday, April 26th, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, will be officially unveiled and open to the public in Montgomery, AL. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the first ever memorial dedicated to victims of lynching and racial terror in the United States.

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), who will be in attendance for the opening ceremony of the unveiling, releases the following statement:

"The National Memorial for Peace and Justice puts on display the unspeakable brutality and the human cost of lynching and racial terror in America," said Rep. Sewell. "No matter how painful, these are memories which our nation must confront. We cannot appreciate how far we have come without acknowledging where we have been."

"It is especially powerful that this Memorial finds its home in Alabama, where more than 300 African Americans were killed by lynching and millions more were terrorized by white supremacy. In Montgomery, where dozens of markers still commemorate the confederacy, a remembrance of racial violence and its victims is long overdue. Along with the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, the Rosa Parks Museum, and other historic sites in Montgomery, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice uses the lessons learned from our past as a model for healing and sustainable economic growth that will give visitors from around the world a truer understanding of our history."

The April 26th opening ceremony for the unveiling of the Memorial and Museum will take place at the Montgomery Convention Center in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The ceremony will be accompanied by the two-day Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) Peace and Justice Summit, which will run all day on Thursday, April 26th, and Friday, April 27th, at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center. The ceremony will also include the Concert for Peace and Justice on Friday, April 27th, at the Riverwalk Amphitheater in Montgomery.

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