For over 150 years, the city of Montgomery, Alabama has been known as the "Cradle of the Confederacy." In 1861, the city played a central role in the formation of the Confederate States of America, a group of 11 US states that sought to secede from the union and maintain slavery.

But now, in 2018, Montgomery is making new efforts to acknowledge and reflect on the horrifying history of American slavery and racism. On April 26, the city opened the nation's first memorial and museum devoted to the history of lynchings in the US.

The project, spearheaded by a nonprofit called the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), pays tribute to lynching victims and chronicles the dark parts of the African-American experience — from slavery to today's national epidemic of mass incarceration.

Take a look at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum below.