Community
Remembrance Project
The mission of the Montevallo Community Remembrance Project and the historical marker is to bring awareness to a horrific episode of racial violence in our town and to educate our citizenry about the legacy of lynching and racial terrorism. The marker aims to start a dialogue about history in which silenced voices are finally heard. A more truthful understanding of our past will lead to racial healing and social progress, and at this moment in history, both are desperately needed.
A historical marker recognizing a double lynching of two Black males in downtown Montevallo was installed on Main Street across from City Hall on June 8, 2020. The marker came about through a two-year partnership between the city, the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, and a citizen's group called the Montevallo Community Remembrance Project (CRP). The Remembrance Project was formed not long after the opening of EJI's National Memorial for Peace and Justice in April 2018. To many citizens it seemed crucial to memorialize the two men, names unknown, who were lynched in Montevallo on August 31, 1889.
For the full story, read “Lynching in Montevallo: An Historical Account.”