Close Residents Tour EJI Memorial For Peace and Justice
For the past year and a half, residents say they have watched the Memorial for Peace and Justice rise from the ground up.
The memorial spans 6 acres and is located where the historic black communities of West Montgomery meet the Cottage Hill neighborhood.
Tuesday, many residents were invited inside for their first look at the site dedicated to victims of lynching.
“A lot of emotions went through me” said Johnnie Sanky, who lives directly across the street from the memorial “we hear about these things in our history books but until you actually put eyes on the stories that were told then you really don’t have a full impact of what it was like”.
Neighbors aren’t the only ones with a front seat to history “This is the oldest black church in the city of Montgomery ” said Christine Williams a member of Old Ship A.M.E Church, as she sat on the front porch of the church. Across the street crews continued to work ahead of Thursday’s grand opening.
Both Williams and Theresa Steele Mitchell, who works nearby, are hoping the memorial will bring more light to an already historic area.
“They’ll invest more in it they’ll want to treat it with the pride and the glory that it really deserves, there’s so much history here” Mitchell explained.
For some, the excitement does come with some concerns. “We’re just hoping that properties are respected” said nearby resident Denise Davis-May. “we’re already having some challenges because there are no parking signs on the streets, and so if we have guests we have to find places for them to park”.
Still, Davis-May says she’s encouraging everyone she knows to see the memorial for themselves.
The grand opening for the memorial is Thursday, but will be open to the public starting Wednesday morning. For more info and tickets. click here.
