The Phoenix Civil Rights Memorial (Peace) reflects the community’s history within the context of the civil rights movement. The artwork, at Eastlake Park, 16th Street and Jefferson, consists of a small concrete amphitheater covered by an arched steel canopy modeled after the Arizona state flag. It includes a timeline etched into stainless steel plates, denoting critical events in the civil rights movement (both locally and nationally) over the past 100 years.
Created as a city public art project in 1997, by artists Ronn Turner and Shannon Owen, the Civil Rights Memorial includes a decade-by-decade timeline of important local and national civil rights milestones. The artists left room on the timeline to document key landmarks from the years 2000 to 2020 and the city is looking for community input.
Karolyn Benger is co-chair of the East Lake Memorial Park Task Force and vice chair of the Phoenix Human Relations Commission. She is hoping to get some feedback from the Jewish community for the project.
“What I found most interesting in a recent meeting of all the task force members was that we are all focused on the process more than the outcome,” shares Karolyn. “We want to ensure that the fully diverse, richness of our city is heard and represented.”
The deadline to collect public feedback is Monday, May 31, 2021. Submit a comment through the online form, or email [email protected] or calling 602-495-0192 to leave a message.
