Destinations USA Alabama This New U.S. Sculpture Park Is a Tribute to America's Enslaved People The main attraction will be a National Monument to Freedom, honoring four million formerly enslaved Black people. By Rachel Chang Rachel Chang Rachel Chang is a travel and pop culture journalist who contributes to Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on January 22, 2024 Close From left: Three Sisters, by Cliff Fragua and a "dwelling" structure at Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama . Photo: From left: Bryan G. Stevenson/Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative/Human Pictures; Juan Carlos Castaneda-castersonic/Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative/Human Pictures On the banks of the Alabama River in Montgomery is a seemingly quiet 17-acre area, but the stories of the people who have walked the lands represents our nation’s dark history. After all, this is the very site where tens of thousands of enslaved people were once trafficked. But as we grapple with America’s past, the land is finding new life as home to the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, opening this year. “Here, where thousands of Black people were trafficked by boat and rail to forced labor camps along the Alabama River, the lives and legacies of enslaved Black people are explored, remembered, and honored,” the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) described of its new landmark. Juan Carlos Castaneda-castersonic/Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative/Human Pictures Unafraid to lean into the difficult history, the EJI added that “the abduction, abuse, and enslavement of Africans trafficked by Europeans across the Atlantic Ocean altered the global landscape and created a legacy of suffering and bigotry.” The main attraction at the park will be the National Monument to Freedom, which will honor 4 million formerly enslaved Black people who won freedom after the Civil War. Nearly 120,000 last names that represent millions of Black families — documented from the 1870 census — will be engraved on a 43-foot tall and 150-foot long wall. Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative/Human Pictures Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative/Human Pictures Among the park's sculptures will be Treesouls by Alison Saar, depicting the suffering of the enslaved, and Strike by Hank Willis Thomas, representing the brutal punishments that were imposed on the enslaved by law. Also as part of the park are “crudely built” and “scantily furnished” dwellings, to better understand what the living conditions were like in the structures that were built in close proximity to the enslavers’ homes to ensure they could always keep an eye out. There’s also the replica of a rail car — to represent the 24 to 30-foot ones that groups of 20 or more were crammed into when they were trafficked by rail. The park will also acknowledge the Indigenous past of the land, through works like Three Sisters by Cliff Fragua, as well as the sharing of Muscogee stories told centuries ago in the area. Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative/Human Pictures Located at 831 Walker Street, the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park will be part of the EJI’s Legacy Sites, which also include The Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, both which opened in 2018. A $5 admission includes all three parks and a free shuttle runs between the sites. As the center of the Civil Rights Movement, Montgomery is also home to other Black heritage sites, like the Rosa Parks Museum, Civil Rights Memorial Center, Anarcha, Lucy, Betsey Monument, Dexter Avenue King Baptist Memorial Church, Freedom Rides Museum, and Dr. Richard Harris House.