The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) Community Remembrance Project is a national campaign to recognize the victims of lynchings by collecting land from the sites where the lynching occurred, building historic monuments, and creating a national monument that acknowledges the horrors of racial injustice. In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Facing Injustice project is an extraordinary monument that pays tribute to those who have suffered from racial injustice. It is a symbol of both the city and the state, honoring 26% of soldiers who served in the War of Independence, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Border Wars, and the Spanish-American War. Bernard Lafayette wrote a letter to the editor published in IndyStar, attempting to persuade Grant County Commissioners to help EJI achieve its goal of collecting land from sites for each lynching victim, placing a historical marker at each site, and placing a commemorative headstone in each county where the lynching occurred.
The memorial structure is built with more than 800 steel monuments, one for each county in the United States where a lynching for racial terrorism took place. It was designed by Indianapolis sculptor Daniel Edwards and consists of two enormous Cor-Ten steel curves carved with the contours of Kennedy and King. In the six-acre park that surrounds the monument is a field of identical monuments, alphabetically ordered by county and state. The monument is crowned by a statue of Victory, holding a sword in the right hand and a torch in the left.
EJI also inaugurated the Peace and Justice Memorial Center which has a memorial dedicated to victims of racial terrorist violence in the 1950s. The center also hosts ceremonies honoring victims of lynchings for reasons of racial terrorism in Leon County, Florida; Dallas County, Alabama; and Franklin County, Kentucky. The Equal Justice Initiative has been devoted to representing people sentenced to death and sentenced to death in prison, challenging inhumane conditions of imprisonment, and working to denounce racial prejudice in the criminal justice system for more than 30 years. This organization has been instrumental in creating monuments dedicated to victims of injustice throughout Indianapolis and beyond.
The Facing Injustice project is an incredible monument that stands as a reminder of those who have suffered from racial injustice throughout history. It is an important symbol for both Indianapolis and Indiana as it honors those who have served their country during times of war. The Peace and Justice Memorial Center also serves as an important reminder of those who have been victims of racial terrorism. The Equal Justice Initiative has done an incredible job in recognizing those who have been victims of injustice throughout history.
Through their efforts, they have created monuments that serve as reminders of these injustices and honor those who have suffered from them.
