Wonderful experience! The staff was extremely thoughtful greeting us with cold water bottles at the…read moredoor. They were very patient with our 5 and 7 year olds who asked so many questions that were answered thoroughly. Thank you for being one of the highlights of our historic trip!

I don't really have much to say about this place as I didn't have time to go inside and do a tour…read more I only got to see this from the outside and take in some history that I wasn't expecting and honestly, was not something that existed. Earlier the day before we drove past this on a bus and our driver pointed it out to us. Our driver was more informative than anyone else I met in Montgomery. He was the one that informed us all that this is not where this house was originally and that it was moved to the current location. I honestly did learn something while visiting. I always thought the capital of the Confederacy was in Richmond, VA. I never knew that the first capital was in Montgomery. Almost like it was something not taught. The house was beautiful, even with all its baggage that comes with it. Well maintained and preserved. History, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, is still part of the fabric of time.

This memorial is located on the outside of the Legacy Museum in a small plaza. It is located behind…read morewhere the shuttle picks up to take visitors to the memorial park. This is a very nice memorial that is intended to honor the thousands of Black people lynched in the years immediately following emancipation, whose names may never be known. The memorial has bench seating on its permitter and features a fountain that lists 560 names of lynching victims, a small representation of the thousands killed between 1865 and 1876. You will find sculptures of 3 African heads of different ages coming out from the center of the water fountain. They are very detailed and almost look real. I can feel their pain. At the end of the fountain you will see a wall that reads a follow: "May we never forget all those who suffered and died because they asserted their basic human right to be free". It is very somber memorial and is respectfully done. It educated me as well. I really did not think about the mass lynchings that were conducted post emancipation by white mobs. The fact that everyone was not happy and did not approve of emancipation is commonly overlooked. Many of those people resorted to violence to express their disapproval and maintain supremacy. I like this mural. It is a one of a kind and honors a somewhat forgotten group. The fountain/water table, sculptures and wall and masterfully done and look awesome. You just have to see it for yourself. Anyway, as with most memorials that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. More than likely you will stop here while visiting the Legacy Museum, but if not, you should at least make this part of a larger itinerary.

As an artist and art educator I appreciate a well designed and curated museum and this one is…read moreperhaps one of the best I've ever been in. Really powerful stuff here, I think every adult in America needs to experience it. I would caution that I think it would take a well prepared and mature child to visit here, it really drives home America's ugly racial past.

Oh my gosh!! This musuem and all it offers needs to be seen by everyone! It is beautifully curated…read moreinto 4 Legacy sites. Transportation on a air conditioned shuttle takes you to any of the 4 Legacy sites. Each site is unique to sharing the history, painful as it can be to remember, of lynching, slavery, and the fight to freedom. The museum is indoors and I spent 2 hrs and only got through 1/4 of the museum. I explored the lynching memorial site which is outdoors and provides a wealth of information on slaves lynched in America. They also offered a boat ride to an outdoor Freedom park with thoughtfully crafted pieces of art, breathtaking monuments and historical artifacts. I did not have time to visit the last Legacy site before it closed but I now have a reason to go back! It was a park dedicated to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Not only was I taken aback from the detail placed into each Legacy site but to know they only charge $5 for all of it. On top of the fact that they provide motorized vehicles for those in need. This is hands down the best history musuem I have encountered. I suggest everyone visit! The staff is very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about it all. They showed great pride in what has been created here.

We visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (NMPJ) on Jan 8, 2026 as part of Road…read moreScholar's "The Civil Rights Movement - Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham" program. It is one of the three Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) Legacy sites in Montgomery, AL, and the only one where photography is allowed. Like with the other two sites, security checkpoint is present and I surrendered my foldable (smartphone) tripod. While the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park has a collection of artwork in a park setting, the entire area of the NMPJ can be seen as a single artwork of many sections, like the long wall mural in Dexter Ave Baptist Church (also in Montgomery; within walking distance from the Legacy Museum). The first section of NMPJ is a large grassy area bordered by walkways, wall-mounted written content on the subject of "from slavery to lynching". and the Nkyinkyim Installation sculpture. I don't know if picnics or napping on the grassy area is allowed. I didn't ask. Walking from this area to the next section took time. The next section, being the memorial temple, is the highlight of NMPJ. An open structure that houses numerous tall tablets resembling coffins. Each tablet bears the names of county and state, followed by the names of lynching victims and their respective dates of death. Initially, the tablets look like they are resting on the floor. At the center of the temple is a grassy square accessible from multiple points. Standing at the center of the square, the visitor can see the sheer masses of deaths memorialized within the temple. (Photos and footages are found on my YouTube channel @1Somber. Look for video title "Day 5: National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Freedom Monument Sculpture Park" in playlist "2026-1: The Civil Rights Movement - Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham".) At one end of the structure, the path turns right to a corridor that slopes down. I then realized that the tablets are hanging from the ceiling. When the corridor reaches the bottom level, the tables are hanging over my head. Mounted on opposite walls are panels, each mentions the known "justification" for the victim's death. Why only the bottommost area of the panel is used is a mystery. I hope in time more names will be added to these panels. The final wall has an inscription draped by a waterfall states that the "victims of racial terror lynchings... whose deaths cannot be documented... whose names will never be known... are all honored here." Leaving memorial temple, I came to Monument Park. In this area, the tablets take on the shape and size of coffins, and lay on the ground rows after rows on the left and the right of the walkway. Like the tablets at the memorial temple, each bears the names of county and state, followed by the names of lynching victims and their respective dates of death. After Monument Park comes the "Guided By Justice" sculpture, and then Community Park. Tablets shaped like signposts line up in a single file to one side, and act as shoulders for the visitor walkway. Each has written details of specific lynchings. I followed these "signposts" and arrived at the "Arise" sculpture. The path then leads back to starting point. Visitors can either go for another round or leave. Our tour guide said that a visit at the NMPJ can be done in 45 minutes. I say, "Take all the time you want." The patrolling staff is sparse and there's no hurry. The $5 admission price covers all three EJI sites. Although I appreciated the NMPJ, particularly capturing a considerable amount of photos and footages, I do not give this place 5 stars because of the unnecessary security checkpoint to do the boat ride from Boat Launch at 101 Morris Street to Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, and vice versa. See attached image for further details. At 12:56pm, after visiting the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (NMPJ), I showed up at Boat Launch. There was a security checkpoint. I was told to turn over my tripod before getting on the boat. The big, burly bespectacled guy in the suit claimed that tripods could be used to vandalize the sculptures, and I could take the boat back and to this pier to get it back. He gave no explanation as to how a tripod would be a hazardous or dangerous object on a boat ride itself. The Sculpture Park has its own security checkpoint where I would turn over the tripod, and I wasn't planning on coming back to this pier just to pick up my tripod. It would be a waste of time. So I waited for the shuttle to take me back to the Legacy Museum after stopping over at NMPJ. When I finally arrived at Sculpture Park, 45 minutes of my time was wasted. This limited the time spent there. There was no necessity to have security checkpoint at Boat Launch when Sculpture Park has its own security checkpoint. Until EJI Legacy updates their policy to one that makes sense, this EJI site gets no more than three stars.

Such an amazing day on the grounds of the Capital, uniting with people that believe in equality and…read morethe rights for fair democracy in this state and country. We are better together!

On our journey to visit all 50 capital cities and capitol buildings, we landed in Montgomery,…read moreAlabama this day. The building is a gorgeous and brilliant white. It sits upon a hill. As you approach, you are greeted with a large wooden door that's quite heavy to pull open. Security is quick and courteous. After we received wristbands, we were orientated on the history of the building and grounds. Points of interest include the room where the 7 state leaders met to vote for secession from the Union and the room where Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederacy. The seemingly floating cantilevered stairs leading to these rooms were designed and engineered by a former slave. The gift shop is large with a wonderful collection of Alabama pottery, jewelry, housewares, food items, and more. Bathrooms are clean and well kept.

Al with the CCC provided our neighborhood association with everything we needed for a neighborhood…read morecleanup day. Gloves, hand grabbers, bags and safety vests. Thank you!

For us tourists, Montgomery is an hour and 20 minute drive from Birmingham. It's a 2 lane highway…read morewith no traffic. Just trees, trucks and you. Montgomery itself is the capital. There is a Capitol building and a lot of other historic sites to see. I would have rather stayed in Birmingham but I tried it but wasn't anything for me to return to see multiple times.

I've lived around the globe as a Navy wife. And in some pretty sad places. Impoverished places. But…read morenever have I seen a place where the people so disrespect their city as this place! They have the potential for a great city. There are two military bases (both small but nice). They have history. There's the potential for southern charm. And yet the criminal element is taking over. Just last weekend alone, we had 4 homicides. And it's been an ongoing problem. Theft is likewise a problem with businesses, either boarding up or closing down. And the panhandling problem is crazy. They'll stop you on the side of the road and approach your car, and often leave trash behind. Add to that people tossing trash out of their cars or using other people's yards to dump their large throw away stuff. We are down by 200 police officers. We need a minimum of 400, but nobody wants to do the job and risk their lives only to see a criminal go through a revolving door. Our Mayor is in abstention most of the time, running off to give speeches at $15,000 a pop, and the City Council? Only one stays in touch with the public. The Mayor promised, when he went into his second term, that this would not be the Montgomery it used to be. I wasn't here for that, Montgomery. But from what i hear, it needs to come back. The schools are tanked, and they just hired the guy who was in charge of Selma's failing school system to be in charge here. Somehow, that doesn't provide much comfort. This city needs a fix. And I don't mean drugs. So no, I would not move here. I would even thing twice about visiting!

This is where you go to get your concealed carry permit. If you are a veteran you can get a…read moreone-year permit for free, otherwise it is $20 per year up to five years. If you are a veteran bring your DD-214. There is a one-page form to fill out and they have them here. It took about 10 minutes. Once you fill out the form you can give it to one of the sheriff's. They will run your background check, then take your picture and give you your card. The whole process takes about 10 minutes once you see a sheriff.

Everyone was very helpful from the female security person who showed me where to complete the…read morePistol Permit form to the lady who processed the form. My daughter and I were in and out in about 15 minutes. Very professional

The ladies here are so nice. I called with questions and they were informative, helpful, and…read morepatient with me each time. I even infor.ed her I was going to drive up just to submit my form as I was super nervous a out messing it up somehow. When, I got there, she was very nice. The state troopers were also nice inside the building and the ones at the capitol who guided me where to go exactly. I had a very pleasant experience today with everyone involved which was great as I was having a high anxiety day.