On Juneteenth, monument dedicated in Alabama to those who endured slavery

The Equal Justice Initiative nonprofit invoked the Juneteenth holiday as it dedicated a monument that honors the people who endured and survived slavery. The National Monument to Freedom is the centerpiece of the new Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama. The monument is inscribed with the surnames that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves after being emancipated at the Civil War’s end. The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative said Juneteenth is a day to honestly confront the brutality of slavery but also honor the people who managed to remain hopeful despite what they faced.