評論
打印
Countries like Germany and South Africa and, of course, Rwanda,
像德國和南非，當然還有盧旺達，
have found it necessary to build memorials to reflect on the atrocities of their past, in order to heal their national psyche.
我們發現有必要建立一個紀念館，來折射他們過去的暴行，以便從心理上獲得全國性的治愈。
We have yet to do this in the United States.
我們在美國也要這樣做。
So I sent a cold email to info@equaljusticeintiative.org: "Dear Bryan," it said,
所以我發出了一個郵件到 info@equaljusticeintiative.org: 郵件上說：“親愛的Bryan，
"I think your building project is maybe the most important project we could do in America and could change the way we think about racial injustice.
我以為你的建筑項目也許是我們在美國能做到的最好的，而且它能改變我們所認為的種族不平等。
By any chance, do you know who will design it?"
順便問一句，你知道誰去設計這個建筑呢？”
Surprisingly, shockingly, Bryan got right back to me, and invited me down to meet with his team and talk to them.
令人吃驚的是，Bryan馬上回了我的郵件，并且邀請我去跟他的團隊見面和談話。
Needless to say, I canceled all my meetings and I jumped on a plane to Montgomery, Alabama.
不用說，我取消了自己所有的會議，直飛阿拉巴馬的蒙哥馬利。
When I got there, Bryan and his team picked me up, and we walked around the city.
當我到達那里以后，Bryan和他的團隊接我去參觀了城市。
And they took the time to point out the many markers that have been placed all over the city to the history of the Confederacy,
他們花了一番時間指出在全市所置放的很多關于南部聯邦歷史的標記，
and the very few that mark the history of slavery.
沒有幾個標記是關于奴隸的。
And then he walked me to a hill. It overlooked the whole city.
然后他帶我走上一個山坡。可以俯瞰整個城市。
He pointed out the river and the train tracks where the largest domestic slave-trading port in America had once prospered.
他指給我看一條河和某些火車道，曾經是美國國內最大的奴隸交易港口，一度非常繁榮。
And then to the Capitol rotunda, where George Wallace had stood on its steps and proclaimed, "Segregation forever."
然后我們到了國會圓頂大廈，喬治·華萊士曾經站在它的階梯上宣稱“永遠隔離”。
And then to the very hill below us.
然后我們到了丘陵下面。
He said, "Here we will build a new memorial that will change the identity of this city and of this nation."
他說，“我們會建立一個新的紀念館，這將改變這座城市和這個國家的面目。”
