The names of all the victims from each county are etched into a 6-foot-tall monument.
Some hold only a few names.
Others are completely full.
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez
Either way, it’s chilling to stand below and look at them suspended above.
“It was surprising to me how meaningful that was to many people in this community.
A lot of African Americans were energizedbut it wasn’t just Black people.
Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative.Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon
There were others saying, Thank God we’re finally starting to tell the truth.'
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Since the early 2000s,Montgomeryhas been getting progressively bolder about truth telling.
New families weren’t moving in, and the young locals who left for college weren’t coming back.
Golson and John Foshee, Foshee Residential.Credit: Robbie Caponetto
You could go out at five o’clock in the evening, and everybody was on their way home.
Nothing was happening.”
The Foshees are longtime Montgomerians.
Ashley Jernigan, JDB Hospitality.Credit: Robbie Caponetto
The ballpark opened in 2004, giving locals a family-friendly reason to go downtown.
And then the opening of a Hyundai manufacturing plant provided a big economic boost.
Among those who responded were entrepreneurs Sarah Beatty Buller and her husband, Mark, of New York.
Wanda Battle at The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church.Credit: Robbie Caponetto
While scouting Montgomery locations, Mark discovered Dexter Avenue and was impressed by its historical significance.
“I’m from Boston, so I grew up on history,” Sarah says.
“And that is what attracted me to Montgomery.
It happened here, and the stories don’t get more dramatic or more thought-provoking.
I feel it strongly.”
Drawing Crowds
A leap in tourism has both accompanied and fueled the growth downtown.
The streetscape along Dexter Avenue got a $6.8 million face-lift.
Renovated sports facilities are attracting championships and bowl games.
She works with the city’s tourism and food-and-beverage communities.
Jernigan moved south to attend Alabama State University and decided to stay.
“It allows me to build relationships and get more people to come here.
I could buy a house here at 23 years old.
The city’s future is also in technology.
Montgomery has one of only a few 100-gig Internet exchanges in the Southeast.
Even the older civil rights sites that don’t employ the EJI’s sophisticated technology still inspire.
“People are fascinated by this history of overcoming and standing for what is right,” she says.
I make that personal, and I share it with people on my tours.”
Parks' life and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
It’s not just minds that we have to change.
We have to change people’s hearts."
