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National Memorial for Peace and Justice

Location

Montgomery, AL


Completed

2018


Owners

Equal Justice Initiative


Architect

MASS Design Group


Photographer

© Getty Images; Alan Karchmer / OTTO; Iwan Baan


Awards

2020 IES Awards Boston Section – Award of Merit (Exterior)

2020 IES Awards Boston Section – Honorable Mention (Interior)

2019 LIT Design Award, Visitor Experience & Museum Exhibition


On a six-acre sacred site in Montgomery, Alabama, this national lynching memorial recognizes the history of racial injustice in our country and serves as a remembrance of the victims and those who fled from racial terror in America. Approaching the memorial, the form is dark and mysterious. As you get closer, a glow from beyond the forest of monuments beckons. At the threshold, massive monuments rest silently on the ground. Quickly the ground begins to give way, spilling light out under each monument. Down the first ramp, each of them is lit from below by a narrow beam of light. As you transition, the monuments are no longer engaged with your body; they now fly above your head. At this point, the lighting for each monument gives way to a pattern of uplights, which create a dappled, uneven effect above.


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