There is a new National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama that remembers the public lynchings that took place in the US for the most trivial of reasons. As expected, some people would prefer to bury this aspect the past, sometimes the same people who seem to enjoy reliving the exploits of their Confederate heroes.
Black men were lynched for “standing around”, for “annoying white girls”, for failing to call a policeman “mister”. Those are just a few of the horrific stories on display at a new national memorial to lynching victims in Montgomery, Alabama.
One mile away, another historical monument tells a very different tale about the American south: the First White House of the Confederacy celebrates the life of “renowned American patriot” Jefferson Davis, who served as the president of the Confederate states, while making virtually no mention of the hundreds of black people he and his family enslaved.
The contradictions of Montgomery’s historical narratives were on full display this week as thousands of tourists and progressive activists flocked to the city to mark the opening of the country’s first memorial to lynching victims – while some locals quietly seethed, saying they resented the new museum for dredging up the past and feared it would incite anger and backlash within black communities.
…The angry and in some cases blatantly racist reactions to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and accompanying Legacy Museum provided a window into some white Americans’ deep resistance to confronting the nation’s brutal history of racial violence, from slavery to mass incarceration.
This video walks us through the memorial.
avalus says
[…] while some locals quietly seethed, saying they resented the new museum for dredging up the past and feared it would incite anger and backlash within black communities.
…
The angry and in some cases blatantly racist reactions […]
Yeah, those local people got their priorities right.
Or even far right.
johnson catman says
These are official state holidays in Alabama:
Monday January 15 Robert E Lee’s Birthday 3rd Monday in January (also celebrated in Mississippi)
Monday April 23 Confederate Memorial Day 4th Monday in April
Monday June 04 Jefferson Davis’ Birthday First Monday in June
That kind of shows you where the priorities are for many people in the state of Alabama.
The third Monday in January is also listed as Martin Luther King Jr. Day because it is a federal holiday, but Robert E Lee’s birthday is listed first.
Matt G says
History upsets their narrative….