Memory is a vital resource for generating the popular will to motivate and bring about lasting social change regarding racial inequality in a democratic society. We can understand memory’s efficacy in this regard through two complementary theological lenses: first, the twentieth century political theologian Johann Baptist Metz’s concept of dangerous memory; and second, the concept of dark interval, developed by the New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan. The aim of this project is to investigate whether and where we find these theological concepts at work in memorials commemorating incidents of racist violence and black resistance in US history.