The Legacy Museum

The Legacy Museum stands in a former warehouse for enslaved people in downtown Montgomery and presents exhibitions that trace African American experiences from enslavement to mass incarceration. The rooms extend across several floors with thematic areas connected by narrow corridors and high ceilings that recall the original use of the site.

The Equal Justice Initiative founded this institution in 2018 at a location where enslaved individuals were confined before auction during the 19th century. The rooms served for decades as warehouses and commercial spaces before being repurposed for their current use.

The name refers to the lasting legacy of racial injustice in the United States, while the building itself marks a location where people were treated as property. Visitors encounter recordings from witnesses and their descendants who speak about family separations and survival strategies.

Visitors should plan around two hours for the tour, as the installations require time for reading and reflection. The entrance sits on a busy street in the city center, and exhibition rooms are accessible via stairs and elevators.

The exhibitions connect historical practices of enslavement with current social questions through recorded statements, objects, and data. Visitors see soil samples from documented sites of extrajudicial killings across the United States, preserved in glass containers.