Freedom Monument Sculpture Park National Monument to Freedom (43 ft wall)

Montgomery, Alabama, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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The National Monument to Freedom is a 43-foot-tall, 155-foot-long monument at the heart of Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama, inscribed with more than 122,000 surnames that formerly enslaved people adopted in 1870. The Equal Justice Initiative dedicated it on 19 June 2024.

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Freedom Monument Sculpture Park National Monument to Freedom (43 ft wall)

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Site-level location · 32.3697° N, 86.2932° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

The monument at the end of this trail is inscribed with surnames: more than 122,000 of them, chosen by formerly enslaved people.

The National Monument to Freedom is the culmination of Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, a 17-acre site on the banks of the Alabama River in Montgomery. The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) says the monument stands 43 feet tall and 155 feet long. Its names come from research in the 1870 Census, the first in which formerly enslaved Black people could officially record a surname. EJI says nearly five million Black people adopted those names. The Associated Press, reporting the dedication on Juneteenth, 19 June 2024, said they represent more than four million enslaved people freed after the Civil War.

NPR described the park as EJI's third public space, after the Legacy Museum and a memorial to victims of lynching; AP says the first two opened in 2018. It is bounded by the river and a railway, which Bryan Stevenson of EJI said was built by enslaved people. Along the walk, visitors pass sculpture by artists including Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, Hank Willis Thomas and Simone Leigh, plus 170-year-old dwellings and rail cars, EJI says. Kiosks at the visitor centre let visitors explore the counties and states associated with names and trace family histories.

The park can be reached by a 15-minute boat ride on the Alabama River or by shuttle. EJI lists the park at 831 Walker Street, with a ticket covering all four Legacy Sites. Its visit page gives hours of Wednesday to Monday, 9 am to 6 pm, closed Tuesdays, closing at 5 pm from 1 November to 28 February. Check EJI before you travel, as the sites close on some holidays.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

An outdoor sculpture park with a visitor centre and parking; EJI's visit page lists Wednesday to Monday 9 am to 6 pm (last entry 5:30 pm), closed Tuesdays, closing at 5 pm from November to February. A ticket covers all four Legacy Sites.

ACCESS

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, 831 Walker Street, Montgomery, AL, run by the Equal Justice Initiative. Reach it by shuttle or by a 15-minute boat ride from 101 Morris Street; parking at the visitor centre, per EJI.

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