Montgomery: Home to the civil rights movement
Beginning with Rosa Parks’ refusal to leave her bus seat in 1955, key moments in the American civil rights movement were centered in Montgomery, Ala.
From the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor for six years, to the Greyhound bus station, where the Ku Klux Klan attacked Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Freedom Riders, markers and historic buildings pay tribute to events that sparked a nationwide movement.
Equal Justice Initiative’s initiatives
Founded in 1989, the Equal Justice Initiative continues the long line of Civil Rights organizations based in Montgomery, Ala. What follows are how EJI is working to confront the history of racial inequality in America, to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment, and to challenge violent and inhumane prison conditions. The information can be found in EJI’s 2017 annual report.
- Children in prison: In 2006, EJI filed a suit to end the practice of condemning children to die in prison as a result of life sentences with no parole. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court banned life-without-parole sentences for children convicted of nonhomicide offenses. In 2012, the Supreme Court struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children.
- Death penalty defense: EJI has provided direct legal assistance to scores of death row prisoners.
- Prison conditions: EJI has successfully challenged violent and inhumane prison conditions in Alabama. Recently, EJI won a settlement with the correction department that obligates the state to make substantial changes, repairs and reforms.
- Community Remembrance Project: EJI has worked with thousands of volunteers to collect soil from over 300 lynching sites. The jars of soil are exhibited in the Legacy Museum and each one bears the name of the lynching victim, date and location.
- Lynching markers: EJI is installing markers at lynching sites across the South and engaging community members in activities that lead to a deeper understanding of the nation’s history of racial injustice.
- Public education: EJI hosted thousands of students of all ages, faith groups, community organizations, policymakers, human rights advocates and international visitors at its office in Montgomery.
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