
ACRP Pilgrimage to EJI, Montgomery Alabama

The Pilgrimage

The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP) led Alexandria residents and Alexandria City High School students on a pilgrimage to the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum, October 6-10, 2022. As a community, ACRP delivered soil reflecting the lives of Alexandria’s two known lynching victims – Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas -- to EJI on October 7, 2022. The trip included tours with social justice activists and visits to Montgomery and Selma civil rights sites. It was an educational and meaningful experience for the 165 Alexandrians who made the journey.
A Photo Gallery
View a slide show of the Pilgrimage. Additional images, below, were posted on October 8 and 9, 2022, during the Pilgrimage.


















A Pilgrimage to Remember
A Pilgrimage to Remember
Poem by Marcia E. Cole
Listen to A Pilgrimage to Remember
Read A Pilgrimage to Remember
Marcia E. Cole has won College Language Association Creative Writing awards in short story, poetry and drama. She is an avid reader and proponent of literacy. She has turned her writing skills to giving voice to those lost in the mist of time and reclaim the stories behind statistics. Her history-based play A Matter of Worth was part of Washington, DC’s first Women’s Voices Festival in 2015 receiving glowing reviews. The work continues.
Ms. Cole created this poem after joining us on the ACRP Pilgrimage.
Oral History Opportunity for Pilgrimage Participants
The ACRP is providing participants of the pilgrimage with the opportunity to participate in an oral history recording. These recordings will provide you with an opportunity to reflect upon the pilgrimage and the soil collection ceremony. Additionally, these recordings will provide you with an opportunity to retell memories from your own lives and how they relate to the ACRP. And lastly, these recordings will provide you with the opportunity to consider the future, such as how can we best honor the lives of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas. Ultimately, these recordings will leave behind an archive of memories and stories for future Alexandrians who can learn more about the transformative work that each of you and the ACRP have done!
Before participating in the recordings, we ask that everyone please review the guide below to learn more about the process. If you have any questions and/or want to sign-up for a recording appointment, please reach out to Francesco De Salvatore at francesco.desalvator@alexandriava.gov, or at 703.946.2687.
In the News
Alexandria plans pilgrimage to Montgomery, Ala., to honor its lynching victims, by Sarah Enelow-Snyder, The Washington Post, January 2, 2022.
A southward Journey, City plans Alabama pilgrimage to honor lynching victims, by Olivia Anderson, The Alexandria Times, February 3, 2022.
Alexandria Soil Headed to the National Memorial for Peach and Justice, Alexandria Living Magazine, September 18, 2022.
Watch an Instagram Reel from VisitAlexandria, October 14, 2022.
More Information
For specific questions, email acrp@alexandriava.gov.