Montgomery, Alabama: Designed by renowned monument architect Maya Lin, the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama is dedicated to those who lost their lives during the Civil Rights movement. Built in 1989, the monument was funded by the Southern Poverty Law Center and was envisioned as a place wherein Americans could reflect upon the dream of racial equality, while honoring those who gave their lives during the early years of the struggle. Located just blocks from the church where Martin Luther King Jr. regularly preached, the memorial contains forty names engraved on black granite, over which water flows. Lin claims the design was inspired by a line from Martin Luther King’s famous, “I Have a Dream” speech.
