05/28/2026
The Neill-Cochran House Museum is honored to announce that it is the site of the 36th Toni Morrison Society “Bench by the Road.” This national program places commemorative benches at locations around the world that hold significance to the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Each bench serves as a place for reflection, remembrance, and dialogue.
The name "Bench by the Road" is taken from Morrison's remarks in a 1989 interview with World Magazine where she spoke of the absences of historical markers that help remember the lives of Africans who were enslaved and of how her fifth novel, Beloved, served this symbolic role:
“There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves . . . There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There's no 300-foot tower, there's no small bench by the road. There is not even a tree scored, an initial that I can visit or you can visit in Charleston or Savannah or New York or Providence or better still on the banks of the Mississippi. And because such a place doesn't exist . . . the book had to.”
The NCHM was chosen as a bench site because it preserves the only intact, publically-accessible slave quarters remaining in Austin, Texas. Built in the 1850s, the quarters stand as a rare and powerful witness to the lives of the enslaved people who labored in and around the property. Today, the Museum works to tell their stories honestly and compassionately, expanding the public’s understanding of Austin’s early history and the people who shaped it.
The Bench will be dedicated at a ceremony during our annual Juneteenth Celebration on June 21, 2026. This free community day will feature free lunch, live music, guided tours, and will conclude with a dedication ceremony with the Toni Morrison Society. Learn more at nchmuseum.org
Voiceover: Toni Morrison at the dedication of the 6th Bench by the Road at George Washington University, Sept 21, 2011.
