ACRP Pilgrimage to EJI, Montgomery Alabama

The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP), community members and students from ACHS made a pilgrimage to the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum, October 6-10, 2022.
Page updated on November 15, 2022 at 5:15 PM

The Pilgrimage

Hall of pillars at the EJI museum
At the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery Alabama

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

ACRP Pilgrimage to EJI Slide Show.

View a slide show of the Pilgrimage. Additional images, below, were posted on October 8 and 9, 2022, during the Pilgrimage.

Justin Williams speaking at Pilgrimage 2022
Mayor Justin Wilson speaking before the soil is handed over to the Equal Justice Initiative.
Welcome Sign Pilgrimage 2022
Montgomery Welcomes Alexandria, Virginia.
Thomas Soil handed to EJI, Pilgrimage 2022
Handing the soil of Benjamin Thomas to EJI.
Audrey Davis speaking at Pilgrimage 2022
Audrey Davis, Director Alexandria Black History Museum
Rev Quadricos Driskell speaking at Pilgrimage 2022
Reverend Quadricos Driskell
Alexandria Pillar at EJI, Pilgrimage 2022
The Alexandria Pillar
Michelle Browder Mothers of Gynecology Museum Pilgrimage 2022
Artist Michelle Browder, founder of the Mothers of Gynecology Museum.
Joanne Bland, Selma, ACRP Pilgrimage 2022
In Selma, Joanne Bland shares her experience meeting MLK for the first time.
ACRP Pilgrimage Edmund Pettus Bridge, 2022
Our group of 165 crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge together. In Selma, Alabama.
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Justin Williams speaking at Pilgrimage 2022
Mayor Justin Wilson speaking before the soil is handed over to the Equal Justice Initiative.
Welcome Sign Pilgrimage 2022
Montgomery Welcomes Alexandria, Virginia.
Thomas Soil handed to EJI, Pilgrimage 2022
Handing the soil of Benjamin Thomas to EJI.
Audrey Davis speaking at Pilgrimage 2022
Audrey Davis, Director Alexandria Black History Museum
Rev Quadricos Driskell speaking at Pilgrimage 2022
Reverend Quadricos Driskell
Alexandria Pillar at EJI, Pilgrimage 2022
The Alexandria Pillar
Michelle Browder Mothers of Gynecology Museum Pilgrimage 2022
Artist Michelle Browder, founder of the Mothers of Gynecology Museum.
Joanne Bland, Selma, ACRP Pilgrimage 2022
In Selma, Joanne Bland shares her experience meeting MLK for the first time.
ACRP Pilgrimage Edmund Pettus Bridge, 2022
Our group of 165 crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge together. In Selma, Alabama.

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.

ACRP Oral History Guide

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.