Jars of soil from lynching sites, on display in the museum
Photos by Human Pictures, all images courtesy of the museum
THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. The Community Remembrance Project is part of our campaign to recognize the victims of lynching by collecting soil from lynching sites, erecting historical markers, and creating a national memorial that acknowledges the horrors of racial injustice.
Many communities where lynchings took place have put up monuments recognizing the Civil War, the Confederacy, and White Southerners’ violent retaking of local power after Reconstruction. But very few monuments or memorials address the history and legacy of lynching, and most victims of lynching have never been publicly acknowledged.
Communities have collected soil from lynching sites from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and soil collections continue to be an important part of these efforts. Jars of collected soil comprise an exhibit in the Legacy Museum that reflects the history of lynching and expresses our generation’s resolve to confront the continuing challenges that racial inequality creates.
EJI’s Community Remembrance Project brings community members closer to the legacy of lynching and helps to make our history of racial injustice more visible across the American landscape.
Jars of soil from lynching sites, on display in the museum
Photos by Human Pictures, all images courtesy of the museum
THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE