The Equal Justice Initiative will soon open a third site in the Montgomery area memorializing victims of racial violence.

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, a 17-acre site  located on the banks of the Alabama River on the north side of Montgomery, focuses on American slavery. Bryan Stevenson, the executive director of EJI, said the site aims to convey the brutality and horror of American slavery, and the resilience and hope of those in it.

“With any honesty about the lives of enslaved people, it is not just Alabama, it is all across this country, that we don’t have a very extensive or developed record about the experience of being enslaved, about living through enslavement, and about the legacy of slavery,” he said on Monday.

The park is scheduled to open to the public by the end of the month.

Montgomery was a major center of slavery and the domestic slave trade. In 1860, — 66% of the population — were enslaved.  The city served as the first capital of the Confederacy. According to EJI, some 400,000 people were held in bondage along the Alabama River just prior to the Civil War. The nonprofit says that rail lines near the park were built by enslaved people in the 1850s, and were used in the buying and selling of human beings.

The Black community in the city maintained a long tradition of activism, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965, both key events in the modern civil rights movement.

“Montgomery, for a long time, has defined itself as the Cradle of the Confederacy, the heart of Dixie, which means we are centered in a space that, in many ways, connects to the challenges that we are trying to address and educate people about,” Stevenson said. “But I also think Montgomery has an important role to play in leading the nation.”

The opening of the park is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, so much so that featured

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park serves to complement and build on the themes that are present at the other two EJI sites located within the city. The Legacy Museum looks at the history of slavery, segregation and mass incarceration and explores their impact on Black Americans and the nation as a whole.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened to national acclaim in 2018, honors victims of lynching in the United States. There are sculptures and features placed within the space that testify to the experiences of those who died and the impact it had for their loved ones.

“I still felt there was a need to have something that you could experience the legacy of slavery around,” Stevenson said. “I have been around to the plantations that exist in this country, and to be honest, I don’t think any really, honestly, present the story of slavery centered on the lives of enslaved people.”

The park is laid out in a circular path that traces the history of the institution of slavery and begins with the transatlantic passage of people kidnapped from Africa to be sold into bondage.

Visitors are presented with information about their ultimate destination in the country, from the south to even as far north as counties in New Jersey.

Further down the path, visitors encounter displays on how people were trafficked to Montgomery to be sold. There is a rail car on the grounds that people can walk into and experience how slaves traveled centuries ago.

The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park includes two 170-year-old dwellings from a plantation in Alabama where enslaved families lived for generations. The third dwelling is a replica that reveals the most common size and design of dwellings.

The site also includes a whipping post to give people a sense of the agony that people who were enslaved had to endure when they were punished.

Sculptures

The park features sculptures from different artists — many African American, African or indigenous — that focus on different aspects of slavery, from the brutality of bondage to the courage of the enslaved. The park is designed to mix art and history in depicting the struggles of those seeking freedom and justice.

One sculpture places fingers around a tree growing from the ground, was done by Eva Oertli and Beat Huber is called “The Caring Hand.” A second statue features two arms with one holding a club is called “Strike” by Hank Willis Thomas.

The park also includes bricks made by enslaved people 175 years ago that visitors will be able to touch, as well as chains used to traffic the enslaved.

The main attraction is a 50-foot-tall monument listing 122,000 surnames of the 4.7 million slaves living in the nation according to the 1870 Census, the first taken after slavery and the first that recorded the names of former slaves.

Visitors descended from enslaved people can use a website to trace where their ancestors lived. They can also stop by the visitor center to research the different locations where slaves lived and find the surnames of those who lived in those locations.

“The most extraordinary thing, I think, about people who were enslaved in this country is they are people who learned to love in the midst of sorrow,” Stevenson said. “I would not be here if my enslaved fore parents had not found a way to love in the midst of sorrow, to create something hopeful, like a family, like a future, despite the brutality.”

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Nervous. Concerned. Worried. Wary. Unprepared.

This is how middle and high school teachers have told me they have felt over the past few years when it comes to teaching the troublesome topic of slavery.

Although I work with teachers in Massachusetts, their reaction to teaching about slavery is throughout the U.S.

Fortunately, in recent years there have been a growing number of individuals who have weighed in with useful advice.

Some, such as history professors and , have advocated for helping students see the ways in which enslaved people fought back against the brutality of slavery. Whether through a focus on the fight to maintain family and culture, resistance at work, running away, physical confrontation or revolt, students get a deeper understanding of slavery when the lessons include the various ways that enslaved people courageously fought against their bondage.

Others, like James W. Loewen, the author of the popular book “,” have argued for a focus on how slavery has deeply influenced our popular culture through , , and .

There are also those who recommend the use of , like , the four-part documentary series “” and the , which features thousands of runaway slave advertisements.

Heeding some of these recommendations, in my work with teachers we have sought to come up with lessons that students like in Worcester, Massachusetts, say have helped them to become “more informed and educated about the brutal history of slavery and its legacy.” These lessons that I have developed take a variety of approaches but are all rooted in taking a look at the realities of slavery using historical evidence.

Many students have echoed Ailany in feedback that I have collected from nine different classes where I have helped design lessons about slavery.

And the teachers whom I have worked with have all shared informally that they are now confident in taking on the challenge of teaching the complex history of slavery.

Much of this confidence, in my opinion, is due to four things that I believe are mandatory for any teacher who plans to deal with slavery.

1. Explore actual records

Few things shine the light on the harsh realities of slavery like historical documents. I’m talking about things such as plantation records, slave diaries and letters penned by plantation owners and their mistresses.

It also pays to examine wanted advertisements for runaway slaves. These ads provided details about those who managed to escape slavery. In some cases, the ads contain drawings of slaves.

These materials can help teachers guide students to better understand the historical context in which slavery existed. Educators may also wish to look at how people such as historian Cynthia Lynn Lyerly, who wrote a chapter in “,” have used historical documents to teach about slavery.

2. Examine historical arguments

In order to better understand different perspectives on slavery, it pays to examine historical arguments about how slavery developed, expanded and ended.

Students can read texts that were written by abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and pro-slavery advocates like .

They should wade through the newspaper advertisements that provided details about those who managed to escape slavery.

Looking at these different arguments will show students that history is filled with disagreement, debate and interpretations based on different goals.

For instance, in examining arguments about slavery, teachers can show students how early 20th-century historians like sought to put forth ideas about kind masters and contented slaves, while others from the 1990s, such as John Hope Franklin, co-author of “,” focused on how Black people resisted slavery.

Seeing these starkly different portrayals of slavery gives students a chance to examine how things such as choice, context, racism and bias might affect the way slavery is seen or viewed.

3. Highlight lived experiences

In my 11 years of teaching history, many students entered my classes with a great deal of misinformation about what life was like for those who lived under slavery. In pre-unit surveys, some stated that the enslaved worked only in the cotton fields and were not treated that badly. We know the historical records tell a different story. While many worked as field hands, there were others who were put into service as

To combat misconceptions like this, I advise teachers to use historical sources that feature details about the lived experiences of enslaved people.

For instance, teachers should have students read Harriet Jacobs’ memoir – “” – alongside diaries written by white plantation owners.

Scrutinize photographs of slave quarters and excerpts from the , which contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery.

Ask students to examine various historical sources to gain a better understanding of how people lived through their bondage over time.

4. Consider the relevance

It is also crucial for teachers to consider the various ways in which slavery is relevant to the present with their students. I advise them to ask questions like: How has the history of slavery of Black people in the United States today? Why are there about slavery?

In Ailany’s class, we ended our unit by providing students with a chance to read and think about the relevance of recent picture books about slavery like Patricia Polacco’s “,” Ann Turner and James Ransome’s “” and Frye Gallard, Marti Rosner and Jordana Haggard’s “.”

We asked students to draw on what they had learned about slavery to consider and then share their perspectives about the historical accuracy, classroom appropriateness and relevance of a selected picture book. Students always have much to say about all three.

Teaching slavery has been and will continue to be challenging. To teachers who are asked or required to take on this challenge, the four things discussed above can serve as strong guideposts for creating lessons that should make the challenge easier to navigate.

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Such efforts raise questions about whether students in the U.S. will ever be able to engage in free and meaningful discussions about the history of slavery in America and the effect it had on the nation.

As , we see a potential venue for these kinds of discussions that we believe to be an overlooked and poorly used resource: plantation museums.

If slavery is, as , “ground zero for race relations,” then the hundreds of plantation museums that dot the southeastern U.S. landscape seem like to confront the difficult history of America’s slave-owning past.

Exploring that possibility is one of the reasons why — along with fellow , , and — we received a to .

We think these plantation museums could be important sites for an educational with this difficult aspect of America’s past. But that’s only if the people who run these museums are committed to telling the truth about what took place, rather than perpetuating . This is particularly important as policymakers seek to curtail discussions about racism – or even – in America’s K-12 schools and colleges and universities.

Usages of these sites have traditionally life before the Civil War and . They have also downplayed the resistance and resilience of enslaved communities, thus preventing the nation from getting a fuller and more accurate picture of American slavery.

Reforms needed

In order to make better use of plantation museums as places to learn about racism and slavery, the museums must be reformed in a major way and do more than just . Rather, this reform demands a reworking of almost every facet of the museum – from misguided tours that gloss over the harsh living conditions of the enslaved to artifacts and marketing materials that emphasize the opulent and picturesque mansions that belie the horrors of what took place on the surrounding grounds. In , we discovered plantation museums where 50% of the tours never mentioned slavery. Our work provides practical guidance to the changes that need to happen.

Problematic places of learning

Within the United States, there are at least 375 plantations open for public tours scattered across 19 states. Based on nearly 2,000 surveys our research team conducted, visitors have indicated that they go to plantations to “learn about history.” The general public considers historical sites, such as plantation museums, to be . Therefore, they deserve to be held accountable for the educational experience they provide.

School field trips are an important revenue source for these often .

At Shirley Plantation in Virginia, field trips . At Meadow Farm, near Richmond, Virginia, . At Boone Hall in South Carolina, visit the site annually.

Whitewashing of history

At one Virginia plantation museum, we observed school children go on where they take on the roles of white slave owners. In one case, the children deliver a message between the white slave owner’s son – a Confederate soldier – and his sick mother while their plantation was occupied by Union troops. This, we believe, leads the children to identify and empathize with the white slave-owning family as opposed to the individuals they enslaved.

Toward reparative education

calls for plantation museums to engage in a more form of education. This education would come to terms with the injustices of the past and in the present, which in turn harms and .

Repairing these historical fallacies is not just about getting the facts correct about the enslaved and the enslavers. It also requires the public to about how slavery is a source of pain and tension in America. Lessons should show how this tension continues to impact . Often to construct buildings, roads, ports and rail lines we use in America.

found that many plantation museums were reluctant to highlight Black lives and histories. But there is promising evidence of change at sites like McLeod Plantation on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina, which opened in 2015, less than a year after the more well-known in Louisiana.

We see both museums – Whitney and McLeod – as exceptional in plantation tourism. Combined, our research found these two sites attract a more racially diverse visitorship than many other plantations because of the inclusive stories being told. Our surveys with visitors suggest public interest in the topic of slavery increased after taking guided tours that focused on the experiences of enslaved communities. In our view, this is a needed counterpoint to of some visitors pushing back against hearing these sober discussions. For instance, tour guides at McLeod reported white visitors yelling at them, claiming the tour their ancestors.

Both of these plantations represent a new way of educating the public about the realities of slavery. Here are three things that stood out during our assessment of the Whitney and McLeod plantations.

1. They incorporate slavery and the lives of the enslaved throughout the tour

We think it’s important to feature slavery and the lives of the enslaved and not keep it separate in a special exhibit.

Visitors should be given an opportunity to make thoughtful connections to those who were once enslaved by learning names and details about their lives. At Whitney, for example, visitors are encouraged to make emotional connections. One way they do this is by receiving a lanyard at the start of the tour that features the words and image of a formerly enslaved child.

2. They provide visitors a space to contemplate

We know the plantation can be an especially fraught and emotional experience, . During our fieldwork, Black visitors would often describe the land as sacred and a powerful place to . Some of these plantations have even hosted . Whitney Plantation provides opportunities for visitor reflection and contemplation throughout the tour, such as benches near a wall that memorializes and honors all of the people who were enslaved there.

3. Tour guides were well prepared

McLeod’s management purposely hired guides who would disrupt romantic notions of the plantation and engage meaningfully with themes of slavery, race and social justice. They also to guides doing the of challenging or complicating long-held plantation myths.

Managers at McLeod acknowledged the stress experienced by their tour guides when they focused on enslavement and its aftermath. They took extra steps to ensure that their guides were supported by initiating a “golden hour.” This was a time for staff to come together and reflect on difficult encounters with the visitors, who sometimes challenged guides’ historical knowledge and fairness. It was also a time for the guides to develop strategies to cope with the of the hostility they faced while doing their jobs.

, Associate Professor of Geography, and , Professor of Geography,

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Nikkolas Smith is not surprised by the book bans and culture of fear dominating schools in his home state of Texas.

If anything, recent events make his work as a children’s book illustrator and self-described “artivist” more urgent.

“I’m gonna keep making books that will probably be on banned lists… because all they do is tell the truth about history. And it’s just ridiculous that accurate history is trying to be suppressed, basically, by those in power who have benefited from racism for centuries,” said Smith, who collaborated with Nikole Hannah-Jones to illustrate The 1619 Project for children. 

Growing up in Houston, he was taught to celebrate the tales of Davey Crockett and the Alamo — “whitewashed” stories “always from one perspective:” glorifying those who owned and killed other human beings, he told ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ.

Now, alongside the words of Hannah-Jones and children’s book author RenĂ©e Watson, Smith’s art flips the script to teach young readers the legacy of slavery rooted in humanity; a Black history rooted in joy. 

In Born on the Water, the to The 1619 Project, Smith’s paintings bring the cultures of West Africans to life, showing the pre-enslavement history often omitted from classrooms.

“One of the things that me and Nikole talk about is there’s so much rich history, and culture, and so much joy in these tribes and these people that were stolen from their land,” Smith told ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ. “You really have to understand all of that to understand how heavy it was, and how tragic it was… We really just wanted to show that life.”

From his plant-filled Los Angeles home, Smith paired Hannah-Jones and Watson’s poetry with family traditions, beautiful hair, dances, imagery that evoked death and spirits. Using a digital , his illustrations began as monochrome shapes and skeletons in Photoshop, impressions of how he felt after reading and internalizing their verses. 

The book hit shelves last fall amid a wave of proposed state laws aimed at preventing students from learning a mythical “critical race theory” and “divisive concepts.” In , legislation attempted to ban the 1619 Project explicitly. So far, Florida has succeeded.  

While a vocal minority of lawmakers and parents believe school aged children are too young to grapple with just how violence against Black people was intrinsic to the nation’s founding, many for the content. Born on the Water topped bestseller lists as families headed into 2022, looking for ways to talk to children about the country they’ll inherit. 

Smith’s artistic approach seemed a natural fit. In digital paintings, he added layer after layer of color and symbols — clouds modeled after picked cotton, the shape of a person sinking underwater, or a green toy tied to a tree, the only sign of life left after colonizers stole a tribe — to convey anger and fear in ways young readers could feel without being traumatized by explicit violence.

Long-inspired by Nina Simone “,” he’d balanced trauma and life in children’s illustrations for years, painting Tamir Rice, Elijah McClain and others killed by police. 

His second book, , explored the internalized hatred young Black children develop from racism and microaggressions. 

Through , which he describes as “art as therapy”, he tries to help himself and viewers heal “the broken bones of society.” 

“For them to say, we have a book about the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, and all of these very heavy things that we as Black people in America, we think about it all the time … I felt like that’s one of the biggest broken bones in America,” he said.

“…Remember that these weren’t slaves that were taken, these were brilliant people, and they did some amazing things … They knew how to design and build cities, they built this country, and that’s why they were stolen, because they were brilliant and good at what they do. We just want to remind people of that, and also how much they fought and resisted and got their freedom back.”

“And [for] the young folks who are not Black, there’s no shame in anything we’re saying. We want people to grow up having an accurate understanding of what happened in this country. I feel like it’s really not until we address all of these things openly and honestly that we’re gonna really grow and move forward as a nation.”
—Nikkolas Smith

Smith blurred linear understandings of time by using symbols across generations, to help young readers understand that “[ancestors’] vision of the future, their wildest dreams are now embodied in us — [we’re] having to take that mantle and move forward.” 

And in faces, Smith balanced the world of feelings bound up in the Black experience: from shame, when the protagonist cannot make a family tree beyond three generations, to pride, after her grandmother recounts the rich history of tribes pre-enslavement. Her hair, in Bantu knots, and clothing give reference to past generations.

Ultimately, Smith hopes his work can help the next generation of Black youth have a sense of pride. Over the next few months, he’ll paint scenes of Ruby Bridges, the first young person to integrate a Southern school in 1960. And next year, he’ll collaborate with celebrated author Timeka Fryer Brown on a picture book about the Confederate flag. 

He expects both will end up on some banned lists.   

“All we can do is keep putting the truth out there,” Smith said, “and it’ll get into the right hands.”

All paintings are illustrated by Nikkolas Smith for Born on the Water, a publication of Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers.