Skift Take
In Montgomery, Alabama, the tourism board and a new memorial to victims of lynching are building off each other's visibility, drawing visitors into a revitalized area of the Deep South they may not recognize.
In Montgomery, Alabama, the Equal Justice Initiative's memorial and museum honoring the victims of lynching — the first undertaking of its kind — is the newest crucial addition to Deep South tourism and black heritage tourism alike.
Despite that EJI's National Memorial for Peace and Justice (and its accompanying Legacy Museum) confront a harrowing topic from which many people recoil, EJI and the Montgomery Convention and Visitor Bureau are successfully feeding off one another. The former collects rave reviews as a groundbreaking attraction that forces the South to confront its ugly history, and the latter rides a wave of recognition as an up-and-coming destination.
EJI is bringing varied tourists to Montgomery, but also has specific implications for the black travel movement. As the movement flourishes on Instagram, the content leans heavily international, often including heritage trips to Africa. But as history marches on, some black Americans also want to connect with the Deep South, and not just on an exhaustive tour of old statues.
Three months after its April opening, EJI's memorial receives up to 1,000 visitors on a weekend day and up to 500 on a weekday, according to its box office, and total visitation has topped 100,000, according to EJI Senior Attorney Sia Sanneh. The museum requires timed tickets in order to prevent overcrowding, while the open, outdoor design of the memorial allows for more concurrent visitors.
New Civil Rights Attractions at a Glance
Two years ago, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in Washington, D.C. to rave reviews, so popular it continues using a timed ticket system in which free passes get booked up three months ahead. The "Blacksonian" arguably set a gold standard for new cultural museums in the U.S.
High praise for the new civil rights museum in Mississippi came next. The U.S. then inaugurated its first National Civil Rights Trail in January, followed by the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, honored this year in Memphis.
The site of King's death, the Lorraine Motel, is now the National Civil Rights Muse
