MEMORIALIZING THE BLACK FREEDOM MOVEMENT, 1991-2018 by Krista Pollett, B.A. A thesis/dissertation submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in History December 2019 Committee Members: Nancy Berlage, Chair Patricia Denton Jessica Pliley COPYRIGHT by Krista Pollett 2019 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Krista Pollett, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. DEDICATION For my parents, Mark and Sherry Pollett ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I began my thesis project, I had no idea just how much it would test me. At times, I felt like this process would never end. Without the encouragement of the following people, I cannot speculate on where the success of this project would be. I could not have completed this thesis without the help and support of my family, friends, colleagues, professors, and mentors. Thanks to my parents, Mark and Sherry Pollett, to whom this thesis is dedicated, for loving me unconditionally and always being there to let me discuss my analysis and ideas for clarity. My thesis committee, comprised of Drs. Nancy Berlage, Patricia Denton, and Jessica Pliley, have been my mentors in the Texas State University History Department since my undergraduate degree and throughout my time in the graduate program. This thesis would not exist without their individual influence and guidance. To my friends Rachel Brown, Coriana McDonald, Brittney Madrigal, and Rebekah Pircher, I wish to convey my sincere gratitude and thanks for their unconditional support, love, and friendship. With the help of these people, I survived all the trials that life threw my way during the research and writing process. Although not always local to San Marcos, my friends and colleagues Rhiannon Krasnowski, Danielle Greer, Anne-Elise Fontaine, Reagan Bynum, Edward Senn, Brian Whetstone, Porsha Dossie, Kasey Steffeck, Rosalinda Williams, Jackie Tliemat, Allison Fluker, Ana Sanz, and Jessica Swenson encouraged me to finish this thesis and reminded me of my worth as a person, friend, and scholar at times when it was truly needed. Thanks to my mentors Debra Law, Dan K. Utley, Ruth Goerger, Amanda Casper, Bonnie v Halda, and Lu Ann Jones for helping shape my professional career as a public historian while I embarked on this project. Thanks to my Granny and Papa, Granny Shirley, cousin Jennifer Lynn, and aunts, uncles, and cousins for their support as my family. Every person listed above hold a special place in my heart and has been key for my success in completing my thesis and growing as a person. A final, special thanks to the National Park Service Park History Program staff, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail staff and rangers, Equal Justice Initiative staff, Lorraine foundation, the Phi Alpha Theta-Sigma Zeta Chapter, the Texas State University History Department, the Texas State University Graduate College, the Texas State University Family Association, the National Council for Public History 2019 Annual Conference “Beyond Granite” panel and attendees, and the University of Alabama Graduate History Association 2018 Conference on Power and Struggle “Civil Rights, Law, Politics, and Society” panel and attendees. Without these organizations, offices, and events, my growth as a scholar and the final thesis product would look remarkably different. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1 II. CONCEPTUALIZING AND REPRESENTING MEMORY ...........................26 III. FROM ORDINARY TO ICONIC: PRESERVING THE ASSASSINATION OF A MOVEMENT ..................................................................................45 IV. ESTABLISHING AND CURATING THE SELMA TO MONTGOMERY NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ..............................................................75 V. TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION: THE MEMORIAL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE .................................................................................................108 VI. CONCLUSIONS ...........................................................................................142 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................................................................................................146 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Plaque at Lorraine Motel..........................................73 2. Memorial Wreath on Lorraine Motel Balcony...............................................................74 3. Lorraine Motel Room 306 on Exhibit.............................................................................74 4. Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail Map.....................................................105 5. Selma to Montgomery Trail Road Sign........................................................................106 6. Selma to Montgomery Trail Defaced NPS Panel, Example 1.......................................106 7. Selma to Montgomery Trail David Hall Farm Campsite Marker..................................107 8. Selma to Montgomery Trail Defaced NPS Panel, Example 2.......................................107 9. Google Map via EJI of Walking Distance Between the Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum...................................................................................................140 10. First Side of EJI Memorial Square with Person for Scale............................................141 11. Third Side of EJI Memorial Square with Person for Scale..........................................141 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Description NHT National Historic Trail NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference SNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee MLK Martin Luther King, Jr. NPS National Park Service EJI Equal Justice Initiative VVMF Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation AFSCME American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees NCRM National Civil Rights Museum NPCA National Parks Conservation Association NTS National Trails System DCVL Dallas County Voters League OAH Organization of American Historians ix I. INTRODUCTION Memorialization is a complex form of cultural memory-keeping. Erika Doss defines memorials as “cultural entities whose social, cultural, and political meanings are determined by the emotional states and needs of their audiences.” Memorialization in this sense represents the physical validation and display of a singular or communal understanding of history and memory. In whatever form, memorials function as an adaptation of the community’s emotions surrounding the historical narrative that is being represented. The analysis of current memorialization trends in the United States by scholars Kirk Savage and Doss suggest that memorials are increasingly “shaped by the affective conditions of public life in America today” instead of being a “product of shared national belief.” Doss coins this phenomenon, which is seen as an explosion of memorials on the American landscape throughout the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, as “memorial mania.” Doss and Savage note that growing American social diversity since the 1990s affects why and how people construct memorials. The growing rate of new memorials simultaneously signifies an increased diversity in American society and a direct connection between commemoration and the creator’s cultural identity. By analyzing memorials through this framework, one can better grasp how and why certain memorials become receptacles of intense emotion and controversy in the present day.1 1 Erika Doss, Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010), 2, 46; Kirk Savage, "The Past in the Present: The Life of Memorials," Harvard Design Magazine 9 (Fall 1999): 14-16; Kirk Savage, "Trauma, Healing, and the Therapeutic Monument," in Terror, Culture, Politics: Rethinking 9/11, ed. Daniel J. Sherman and Terry Nardin (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006), 104. 1 This thesis takes a case study approach to examining three place-based memorials that are dedicated to preserving and contextualizing the history of the black freedom struggles within their respective historical landscapes: the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail (NHT), and the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial to Peace and Justice. An analysis of these three sites not only reveals the shifting trends in the practice of American commemoration towards abstract forms and community engagement, but also reflects how the increasingly complex historiographical