The Civil Rights Memorial, (sculpture).

The Civil Rights Memorial, (sculpture).

Lin, Maya, 1959- , sculptor.

Cole, Robert, architect.

Benson, John Everett, 1939- , carver.

Upchurch, Ken, contractor.

W. K. Upchurch Construction Company, contractor.

Cole & Hill Architects, architectural firm.

Unknown (Vermont), fabricator.

The Civil Rights Memorial, (sculpture).

1989. Dedicated Nov. 5, 1989.

Digital Reference:

Canadian black granite wall and table rest atop a stone cylinder installed below ground; white granite paving and plaza; metal grill at base of table.

Table: approx. H. 32 1/2 in. Diam. 12 ft.; Wall: approx. H. 10 ft. W. 39 ft. 3 in. D. 7 ft. 10 in. (15 tons).

(Inscribed on wall, upper center:) ...UNTIL JUSTICE ROLLS DOWN LIKE WATERS/AND RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE A MIGHTY STREAM/MARTIN LUTHER KING JR (The table is inscribed with dates and events which marked the Civil Rights Movement and names of 40 victims of racial violence) unsigned

Two-part abstract work consisting of a convex wall with an asymmetrical conical shaped table in front. The work is surrounded by a hemi-spherical plaza. Water flows continuously over the edges of both the wall and the table. The top of the table is inscribed with dates and events in the Civil Rights Movement. Each event is inscribed like a spoke of a wheel around the edge of the table. The wall curves outward into the plaza. A pool of water along the top edge of the wall is the source of the water which flows down the front of the wall into a trough along the base of the wall.

History -- United States -- Black History

History -- United States -- Civil Rights Movement

Outdoor Sculpture -- Alabama -- Montgomery

Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, P. O. Box 548, Montgomery, Alabama 36101

IAS files contain complete transcription of all inscriptions which appear on the top of the granite table. IAS files also contain related article by Zinsser, William, "I Realized Her Tears Were Becoming Part of the Memorial," Smithsonian Magazine (Sept. 1991): pg. 33-43 which describes the events and people memorialized in the sculpture. IAS files also contain related newspaper clipping from Courier-Journal, Nov. 6, 1989; an additional article from the Southern Poverty Law Center Magazine; and a brochure on the Civil Rights Memorial which include quotes by the artist, Maya Lin. The table top was fabricated by a granite fabricator in Vermont.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Alabama survey, 1992.

Zinsser, William, "I Realized Her Tears Were Becoming Part of the Memorial," Smithsonian Magazine (Sept. 1991): pg. 33-43.

Zinsser, William, "I Realized Her Tear Were Becoming Part of the Memorial," Smithsonian Magazine (Sept. 1991): pg. 43.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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