Joint Statement from Delegation of Palestinian Lawyers, Human Rights Activists, and Artists on Opening of National Memorial to Reckon with History of Lynching and Slavery
MONTGOMERY, AL, April 26, 2018 – A delegation of Palestinian lawyers, human rights activists, and artists is traveling to Montgomery, AL this week to witness and celebrate the opening of the Equal Justice Initiative’s (EJI) Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The delegation includes representatives from the Adalah Justice Project, Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Palestine Legal, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace, as well as individual organizers and artists.
We, the delegates, recognize EJI’s leadership in conceptualizing and building monuments that impel a national reckoning with the history of violence inflicted on Black people. That violence was initially carried out in the forced enslavement and lynching of Black people, and has evolved into the current phenomena of mass incarceration and poverty in the Black community.
We recognize the racial terror inflicted on Black Americans as an intentional crime against humanity. This memorial and museum open a window into the past and present injustices endured by Black Americans. It gives hope that we can, as a society, move towards collective historical truth, and thus, be better positioned to achieve justice.
This year, as Palestinians commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the beginning of our dispossession from our land, a process that continues to this day, we take inspiration from the opening of the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. We celebrate this opening as a step towards justice not only for the Black community, but for all those who struggle for freedom and true equality in the face of systemic oppression.
As we attend, learn from and examine parallels with our own struggle at this momentous event, we will also share our own experiences of overcoming obstacles to reclaim our history. On Saturday, April 26, representatives from EJI, Adalah and Palestine Legal, along with Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Southern Alabama, will hold a forum: Reclaiming History: A Workshop on the Pursuit of Historical Justice From Palestine to Alabama. We believe that by connecting our struggles for freedom, justice, and equality, we build power and move ever closer to collective liberation.
Signed by
Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Adalah Justice Project
Jewish Voice for Peace
Palestine Legal
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
For media inquiries and quotes from the delegates, please contact:
Sandra Tamari
Adalah Justice Project
Email: [email protected]
