The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park is a profound and moving experience realized by the creative design vision of Bryan Stevenson and the organization he founded, the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). OLIN served as EJI’s Landscape Architect to help realize this soulful truth-telling of Black enslavement in the American South. The project begins with a ferry journey from the waters of the Alabama River a nexus of the domestic slave trade. From there, visitors ascend to the entry site along a custom switchback dock ramp winding them through the forest canopy where they will see the first glimpses of sculptural works set within a second-growth forest environment, representing aspects of life from the horrors of trafficking and punishment; to resilience and healing reflection in the face of this vile institution.
The narrative, journey through the site, and the sculptural works representing these aspects were carefully curated by EJI. OLIN utilized simple materials of lumber, bound gravel and woodblock reflecting the solemnity and authenticity of EJI’s vision. Preservation of maturing trees while building stout paths that blend with the forest context is complemented by a forest understory planting palette that both screens and fills the site to restore the forest floor.
The power of this monument is brought to the fore through the simple listing of names on the immense Freedom Monument Wall. A tableau of suffering and survival recorded in names of all those known to be enslaved.
