Community Soil Collection Project
The process begins with forming a committed and diverse community coalition to submit a project proposal. Approved coalitions then work collaboratively with EJI staff to research each victims' story, identify potential locations for the soil collection, facilitate community education opportunities, and plan a meaningful soil collection ceremony. This project is a great starting point for communities interested in erecting historical markers and eventually claiming their memorial monument.
Jars of collected soil are displayed in Montgomery at the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, the Peace & Justice Memorial Center, and in the EJI office. Some communities choose to establish permanent local exhibits with the jars of soil. These exhibits express our ongoing commitment to confronting our history of racial injustice.
The Community Soil Collection Projects have proved incredibly impactful to those who have participated, and community partners who have completed soil collections continually express the deep meaning and emotional impact of these experiences.
In this soil, there is the sweat of the enslaved. In the soil there is the blood of victims of racial violence and lynching. There are tears in the soil from all those who labored under the indignation and humiliation of segregation. But in the soil there is also the opportunity for new life, a chance to grow something hopeful and healing for the future. - Bryan Stevenson, EJI Executive Director |
Delivery of Soil Collected Remembering
Video of Mr. Henry Simmons Soil Collection Ceremony on Saturday, June 3, 2023
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Delivery of Soil Collected Remembering
You're invited to join the Palm Beach County Community Remembrance Project coalition
For more information: Narrative Soil Collection Memo for Sam Nelson
When: Friday, February 24, 2023 - 10:00 a.m
Where: Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Museum for Peace and Justice (400 N. Court Street Montgomery, Alabama 36104)
Soil Collection Planned
The Coalition is finalizing its research tracing the hours of Mr. Simmon's and Mr. Nelson's racial terror lynchings.
For more information: Narrative Soil Collection Memo for Sam Nelson
When: June 18, 2022 (part of a larger Juneteenth event at the site)
Where: Pompey Park Gymnasium, 1101 NW 2nd Street, Delray Beach FL 33444