Sculpture park aims to look honestly at slavery, honoring those who endured it

By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The history of slavery in America is the focus of a new sculpture park in Montgomery, Alabama. The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park honors the millions of people who endured slavery’s brutality. The park opening March 27 is the third site created by the Equal Justice Initiative, which is dedicated to taking an unflinching look at the nation’s history. It contains a mixture of sculpture, art and historical artifacts, and its centerpiece is the National Monument to Freedom. The monument is nearly four stories tall and is inscribed with each of the 122,000 surnames that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves.