At the park bearing her name stands a life-size bronze statue of Viola Liuzzo – a civil rights activist that had been murdered by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). On March 25th, 1965, Liuzzo, a 39 years old Detroiter housewife and a mother of five, came from Detroit to Alabama to march with 25,000 activists supporting African-Americans’ right to vote. After the rally, she shuttled marchers and volunteers from Montgomery to Selma, and KKK members shot her in the head and killed her. She is the only white woman to die during the 1960’s civil rights fights.
The statue’s dedication ceremony was held on July 23rd, 2019, in front of a crowd of a few hundred people, among them were Liuzzo’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
The statue was created by the local Detroiter artist, Austen Brantley. It depicts Liuzzo’s determined expression while she mid-marches, barefoot holding her shoes in one hand, walking away from the KKK hood that lying on the ground; she is moving forward, leaving violence and hatred behind her.
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