Memorialization and Community Project, Alabama, 2018 - 2019

This
study focuses on understanding how the National Memorial for Peace and Justice
(NMPJ), the first large-scale memorial to black or African American victims of lynching, affects the immediate community surrounding it.
Memorialization in the United States has been a growing trend over the past few
decades. To date, there has been limited research on how memorials affect
relationships between groups and how they impact the attitudes and behaviors of
individuals. This study explores how the representation of past racial violence
is interpreted and responded to by those who regularly interact with it. The study helps to understand better
how the practice of memorialization mediates how our nation grapples with the
darkest moments of its past.
The data include the following:

Survey data: A four-wave longitudinal survey of the local city's residents was conducted pre- and post NMPJ's opening to capture social and
political attitudes. Additionally, a two-wave longitudinal survey was conducted
with two comparison groups in Alabama
Secondary data: Montgomery City Police Department crime data concerning reported incidents that occurred between Oct. 27, 2017 and Oct. 31, 2018. The collection was restricted to incidents that occurred within two miles of NMPJ
Secondary data: Links to and metadata of 619 American media stories in English addressing NMPJ, which were published between Aug. 16, 2016 and Jan. 17, 2020