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CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
COMMUNITY REMEMBRANCE PROJECT CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TRUTH AND JUSTICE TO
STNETNOC FO ELBAT
Getting Started pg 6 Introduction pg 8 Connecting Past and Present pg 11 Pursuing Local Remembrance pg 12 Research and Engaging Narrative Change pg 14 Visiting EJI s Cultural Sites pg 16 Advancing Community Engagement pg 29 Intentional Community Assessment pg 30 Preparing for Engagement pg 32 Community Education and Engagement pg 34 71 Connecting with EJI s Community Remembrance Project pg 73 Soil Collection Community Project pg 78 Historical Marker Project pg 92 Racial Justice Essay Contest pg 106 Steps to Get Involved pg 125 Further Ways to Get Involved pg 127 EJI Resources pg 128 Next Steps to Engage EJI s CRP pg 131 Frequently Asked Questions pg 141 Featured Communities pg 143 Photo By EJI Staff
GETTING STARTED EJI invites communities to engage in restorative truth telling efforts to work towards repairing the harms caused as a result of an era of enslavement an era of racial terror lynching and violence an era of Jim Crow segregation and an ongoing era of mass incarceration in our nation EJI believes that these efforts are critical to advance a new era of truth and justice 6 Photos By Willie J Allen Jr
In this document community members can learn more about The purpose of meaningful community education efforts including the importance of connecting our national past to its present through narrative engagement and public memorials EJI s Community Remembrance Project centers the African American experience of racial injustice and our collective need for truth justice and healing How community members can advance local community engagement and education efforts Tools and frameworks community members can use to shape restorative truth telling work that best fits their own local community and How community groups can work with EJI on Community Remembrance Project initiatives including the Soil Collection Community Project the Historical Marker Project and the Racial Justice Essay Contest For additional resources please see pages 128 129 of this catalog 7
INTRODUCTION GOLATAC TCEJORP ECNARBMEMER YTINUMMOC IJE In 1989 the Equal Justice Initiative EJI began as a law office dedicated to representing people sentenced to death and condemned to die in prison Over time these efforts expanded to combat mass incarceration more broadly by challenging inhumane conditions of confinement as well as the abuse of children people with disabilities and the indigent in America s criminal justice system In advocating for our clients and vulnerable communities EJI has also strived to expose and eliminate racial bias and discrimination in the criminal justice system This legal work brought EJI proximate to the experiences of bias and inequality facing the poor and people of color in courts and prisons across the United States and provided a more intimate perspective on the many ways in which our nation s current era of mass incarceration is deeply rooted in America s history of racial injustice Understanding that this knowledge had the power to change the national conversation about criminal justice in desperately needed ways EJI made a commitment to fostering awareness and discussion of these issues beyond the courtroom In 2008 EJI launched a public education project focused on telling the truth about America s racial history Through research writing and community partnership EJI works to document and memorialize the eras of enslavement racial terror lynching segregation and mass incarceration EJI s public education materials include reports videos interactive websites and the annual A History of Racial Injustice Calendar print and online Our Community Remembrance Project including the Soil Collection Community Project Historical Marker Project and Racial Justice Essay Contest has helped communities across the nation reckon with tragic local histories of racial violence and unresolved trauma through public memorials and dialogue In April 2018 this work culminated in the opening of two important cultural spaces the Legacy Museum From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice both located in Montgomery Alabama These efforts have expanded to also include the Legacy Pavilion and the Peace and Justice Memorial Center EJI believes it is critical for communities across the country to do the difficult work of unearthing and confronting their own histories while also exploring its present day needs and legacy We are pleased to share our research with communities who commit to this work and to support broad community education efforts and memorialization work through EJI s Community Remembrance Project 8
SOMEBODY HAS TO STAND WHEN OTHER PEOPLE ARE SITTING SOMEBODY HAS TO SPEAK WHEN OTHER PEOPLE ARE QUIET BRYAN STEVENSON EJI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 9
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TNESERP DNA TSAP GNITCENNOC Photo By Bernard Troncale
PURSUING LOCAL REMEMBRANCE Our shared national history of racial and economic injustice and inequality has created continuing challenges for all Americans EJI s research and remembrance work particularly focuses on the African American experience and the role that anti Black bias and inequality have played in shaping laws and social systems and sparking deadly violence EJI believes that the ways we acknowledge historical injustice recognize injustice in our own lives and communities today and work toward the goals of equitable justice and truthtelling are shaped by How we publicly remember the past How we tell the stories of who we are and How we explain the way our past influences our present 12
PEOPLE To learn from past injustices in order to commit to change we must confront and tell the truth about our nation s history We have often failed to discuss how our nation was built on the genocide of Native people the enslavement of kidnapped Africans and the multigenerational subjugation and oppression of people of color Further in many communities the only prominent public memorials and dominant historical narratives often ignore these groups experiences and traumas instead presenting a simplified and idealized story of America s past Local remembrance projects enable communities to overcome silence and avoidance by participating in a sequential process of truth healing justice and repair Public memorials and gatherings centered around reflection and narrative change can help us advance more honest conversations about our past and present and better demonstrate a commitment to solving racial inequality and injustice moving forward EJI is working with communities to reveal the history and legacy of racial injustice through the stories of victims of racial terror lynching As each victim s story is uncovered and shared alongside broader historical context opportunities are created to explain the widespread effect of this violence and its continuing legacies To learn more about these connections and legacies community members can explore our resources see page 128 129 for EJI Resources and find examples of how communities have pursued remembrance efforts throughout this catalog 45 60 Photo By Chris Baker Evans 13
RESEARCH AND ENGAGING NARRATIVE CHANGE Our organization s research has EJI has spent over ten years researching the history of racial injustice and terror lynching in America documenting at least 4 400 African American men women and children who were lynched across twenty states between 1877 and 1950 Recently EJI expanded its research during the Reconstruction era between 1865 and 1876 documenting nearly 2 000 African American men women and children who were victims of racial terror lynching and violence during Reconstruction EJI s research concerning the history and legacy of racial terror lynching is ongoing and continuous and our organization acknowledges that any recorded number of documented victims will always be an undercount due to the innumerable undocumented victims also killed during these eras The historical record of fear and trauma created due to racial terror and lynching in America is staggering EJI believes that it is essential that we publicly acknowledge racialized mass violence not only for the victims and survivors of this violence to heal but also for the beneficiaries of these historical injustices to be able to grapple more honestly and effectively with these unresolved issues today 14 enabled community members nationwide to learn more about the era of racial terror 1877 1950 and to identify lynchings committed in their own communities Our research also aims to expose the persistent narratives of racial difference and bias that sustained the practice of lynching and continues to fuel mass incarceration and racial injustice today EJI believes that we need to understand and confront these narratives in order to effectively challenge the interpersonal institutional and political practices they still shape Narrative change is therefore an essential and critical component of effective community remembrance efforts For narrative change to be impactful it must be bold in its truth telling and effective in promoting reflection and dialogue When remembering the victims of racial terror lynching and its impact we must be willing to identify and dispel myths of white supremacy and Black inferiority that perpetuated this violence challenge the idea that lynching was a justifiable response to accusations of crime and acknowledge that functioning criminal justice systems often failed to hold white mobs accountable and afford equal protection under the law to Black people across our nation We must be willing to call for more accountability in addressing the legacy of this history as we work for racial justice today Where these efforts of narrative engagement and change succeed we will be more prepared to faithfully contribute to the process of repair that our nation has yet to fully experience
VISITING EJI S CULTURAL SITES In April 2018 EJI opened the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice to encourage and facilitate a reckoning with America s history of racial injustice Over 800 000 visitors from across the world have visited EJI s campus of sites Many visitors of varying ages and exposure to the history discussed in these spaces have shared that their experiences were powerful educational and inspiring Many CRP efforts have been launched in the wake of selfguided site visits that inspired action and a commitment to truthtelling in their own local community The Legacy Museum From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration is located on the site of a former slave warehouse in downtown Montgomery where imprisoned enslaved people awaited sale This narrative museum advances education about the legacy of the domestic slave trade racial terrorism the Jim Crow South and the world s largest prison system Together the interactive exhibits and the visitors who engage with them transform the site from a space of historical trauma to one poised for truth and healing 16 The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the nation s first memorial dedicated to remembering more than 4 400 documented African American victims of racial terror lynching The Memorial square houses over 800 corten steel monuments each representing a county where racial terror lynchings took place between 1877 and 1950 The Monument Park also contains duplicate monuments allowing visitors to examine their county s history more closely and reflect on the role of memorialization in advancing local truth justice and reconciliation efforts Located near the National Memorial is the Peace and Justice Memorial Center which serves as a space where visitors can learn more about America s history of racial inequality explore the work of EJI and engage with artists and thought leaders for a deeper understanding of human rights It also includes a water monument to Black women men and children who were victims of racial violence during the 1950s There is nothing like it in the country The New York Times
THE LEGACY PAVILION
The Legacy Pavilion is the welcome center and ticket office for EJI s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice A monument stands as a memorial to at least 2 000 Black people lynched during the era of Reconstruction 1865 1877 We wanted to make sure that people didn t forget the humanity Bryan Stevenson EJI Executive Director 19
THE LEGACY MUSEUM FROM ENSLAVEMENT TO MASS INCARCERATION
The Legacy Museum employs unique technology to chronicle the enslavement of African Americans the evolution of racial terror lynchings legalized racial segregation and racial hierarchy in America The Legacy Museum also connects visitors to the stories and lives of those most directly impacted by our current era of mass incarceration The new museum and memorial in Montgomery are exactly the remembrance America needs Rolling Stone 21
THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
Set on a six acre site the National Memorial for Peace and Justice uses sculpture art and design to contextualize America s history of racial injustice The site includes 800 sixfoot monuments to symbolize thousands of African American victims of racial terror lynching in the United States killed between 1877 1950 The sites reveal with immense emotional resonance and intellectual rigor the stories and politics around centuries of racial oppression and terror in the United States Architectural Review 23
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
THE WASHINGTON POST 26
WHILE THE MEMORIAL IS NATIONAL IN SCOPE AND AMBITION IT RESOLUTELY FOCUSES ON AMERICAN COUNTIES INSISTING ON LOCAL CULPABILITY WHILE OTHER MEMORIALS SPEAK VAGUELY OF NATIONAL GUILT OR CRIME 27
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Photo By Rey Granger TNEMEGAGNE YTINUMMOC GNICNAVDA
Photo By Donn Young INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT To understand a community s engagement with its past community members should begin by assessing what work has already been done and is already happening in their community 30
LOCAL CONSIDERATIONS Every community in the United States can benefit from the collective work of remembrance restorative truth telling and challenging injustice in our lives today beginning with understanding our own local histories of racial injustice and inequality Prior to beginning a new local remembrance campaign community members and groups should consider What conversations are already happening and what groups or organizations are already seeking to advance a more truthful narrative and justice related initiatives Has the history and legacy of racial terror in the local community been acknowledged at any point in the last 10 years What memorials and sites of remembrance already exist in the local community and what is the community s relationship with those memorials and sites How might the local community respond to its history of racial terror lynching and why might that response emerge Based on this assessment community members will have a better sense of the potential for local partnerships community needs and the contemporary issues of racial injustice that need to be addressed in their area Intentional community assessment will also continue throughout the duration of remembrance efforts as community members continue to assess How is the community responding to its history through public memorialization Where does the community still need further understanding concerning the connection between these historical events and current community needs How can honest dialogue and collaborative efforts continue to be fostered to find equitable solutions to contemporary challenges EJI encourages community members to explore and connect with existing local efforts that are effectively reaching out to their community about these issues already and to discuss the implications of bringing a Community Remembrance Project into the community More information on preparing for local community engagement is discussed in the next section 31
Photo By 904ward PREPARING FOR ENGAGEMENT After or during the process of completing an intentional community assessment community members can prepare for local community engagement with shared learning narrative development and further research 32
PRELIMINARY STEPS Community members can develop their goals and narrative by considering questions such as What is the history of our community Meaningful engagement with histories of racial injustice requires both national context and a particularized understanding of each local community Community members are uniquely situated to advance remembrance work due to their local knowledge of their area and can take preliminary steps to engage their community either as an individual or as a group Our Community Remembrance Team recommends the following preparatory steps Read EJI s Lynching in America report available online at https lynchinginamerica eji or g report We recommend this as an important first step in developing a robust understanding of racial terror the role and need for memorialization and how this connects to local remembrance work and narratives Discuss and write down the anticipated goals and narrative associated with the local remembrance efforts being planned in advance of hosting community events How will we discuss it Why is it important for us to discuss this history now How is it connected to current day issues What are our hopes for our community Consider pursuing further research about victims of racial terror lynching in your area Local archival research online searches and reviewing EJI s resources can be good starting places for more details about the history of local racial terror lynchings for remembrance efforts In addition to these preparatory considerations it can also be important to be mindful of how the work of remembrance may affect any relatives or descendants of the victim being remembered while also acknowledging the effects on the larger community These efforts should empower African American community members who have directly borne this trauma and invite the entire community to use truth to give voice to those experiences and expose their legacies 33
Photo By UAB Bloom Studio EMPOWERING COMMUNITY EDUCATION Effective community education and engagement efforts can help to disrupt biases and misconceptions about race and poverty and shift problematic narratives to inspire meaningful changes over time 34
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES Community education and engagement is an essential component of restorative truthtelling and narrative change By shifting dominant yet problematic narratives in a community through education community members can inspire action to memorialize the past understand its power to chart a different future and advance a new era of truth and justice over time Community members can begin this work by creating opportunities for people to learn and engage in transformative conversations about the local and national history of racial and economic injustice EJI recognizes that in light of changes to social gathering postCOVID 19 building strong public educational outreach will require careful planning and creativity where in person gathering is necessarily limited We encourage leveraging technology where possible to foster communal conversations about the local history of and or contemporary issues connected to racial injustice Translating memorialization work to present day social change requires connecting historical legacies to contemporary injustices Local community members are in the best position to identify the most relevant local issues related to a range of social matters including but not limited to criminal justice and policing education housing and health and wealth disparities When leveraging virtual options community members can consider approaches such as online book reading groups virtual panel discussions online film discussions online educational campaigns or a combination of these approaches While many of the efforts provided as examples of community education and engagement in this catalog have happened in partnership with EJI many educational opportunities have occurred as the result of locally driven efforts that have helped inspire change remembrance and engagement in their communities that continues to today The following sections will discuss these opportunities and more in further detail 35
Photo By Rey Granger HOSTING COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS Facilitating community conversations about our national and local history of racial injustice and its contemporary legacies can create opportunities to build relationships learn be challenged and open doors for healing 36
BOOK DISCUSSIONS PANELS AND GATHERINGS Community members have considered several avenues to promote community conversation and dialogue including but not limited to book discussions hosting educational events and panels and inviting community members from diverse backgrounds to gather and connect EJI has often supported these various creative efforts by providing educational materials and staff engagement BOOK READS AND DISCUSSIONS EJI highly encourages communities to dive deeper into issues of racial justice through scholarship and literature Exploring these works in group settings can be a powerful tool for growth We have supported book reads and discussions in various settings from small groups in faith communities to city wide book read events For a list of recommended books and resources see page 129 PANELS AND GATHERINGS Community members have been very creative in developing opportunities to share about their local history whether in person or online to multiple audiences Many community groups have hosted informational presentations panel discussions webinars and more to encourage learning sharing and reflection on educational topics presented by members of the community who can speak from their proximity to these issues On March 29 2019 the Fulton County Remembrance Coalition of Atlanta Georgia hosted a community conversation called The Impact of a Narrative featuring a panel discussion on the importance of confronting and examining our nation s history of racial terrorism and white supremacy The panelists focused on themes of history trauma activism and restorative justice and helped to spark local dialogue on how acknowledging this difficult history prepares us to have more honest conversations about our present day challenges and potential solutions 37
HOSTING COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
In November of 2019 the Community Remembrance Project of Greenville County South Carolina hosted a panel discussion in memory of George Green an African American victim of lynching killed in 1933 in Greenville county Local pastors historians elected officials and nonprofit leaders discussed Mr Green s story and its connection to contemporary issues of gentrification and housing inequality Hundreds of participants joined inperson and via livestream and had the opportunity to discuss these issues together Photo By Jeanette Brewster 39
Photo By EJI Contributed FILM AND DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS Film and documentary screenings can provide a meaningful forum to deepen the local understanding of a community s history of racial injustice and its present day legacy in contemporary local issues 40
VISUAL STORYTELLING As part of EJI s public education efforts we have developed several film and documentary resources that community members can use to facilitate screenings and advance community education and engagement In 2019 EJI worked with HBO to produce the award winning documentary True Justice Bryan Stevenson s Fight for Equality This HBO documentary details the life and work of Attorney Bryan Stevenson and the work of EJI This feature documentary focuses on Attorney Stevenson s life and career particularly his indictment of the U S criminal justice system for its role in codifying modern systemic racism and tracks the intertwined histories of slavery lynching segregation and mass incarceration The film is now available for free to the public via YouTube and can be found at https eji org projects truejustice Released in January 2020 the movie Just Mercy based on the bestselling book presents the story of Attorney Bryan Stevenson Michael B Jordan and the case of Walter McMillian Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit EJI has developed a discussion guide designed to help viewers understand and learn more about the criminal justice system and to shed light on the issues of fairness and racial bias raised in the film Please visit our movie website at https justmercy eji org to learn more about the film and to download a post screening guide with selected discussion topics EJI has also supported community film and documentary screenings by sending educational materials and staff occasionally to participate on panels Other films community groups could explore include If Beale Street Could Talk 13th I Am Not Your Negro American Violet Rosewood 12 Years A Slave When They See Us John Lewis Good Trouble and more 41
FILM AND DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Photo By Alexandria Community Remembrance Project ONLINE AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS Creating online campaigns to reach people where they are can help build significant conversations about racial justice in new ways 44
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
ONLINE AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS Photo By EquitableDinners com
A virtual series developed by various community partners in Atlanta Georgia was created to further community conversations about racial equity The Equitable Dinners Lift Every Voice series has covered a range of topics featuring artistic expressions expert speakers and an opportunity to connect with others in meaningful discussion To learn more about this series and platform visit their website at Equitabledinners com 47
Photo By Claire Rounkles PERFORMANCES THEATER AND THE ARTS Designing community artistic theatrical and performance based experiences that highlight local racial history and related contemporary challenges can be a powerful way to foster community engagement 48
ARTISTIC EXPLORATION Community members can consider exploring local history through various expressions of art music poetry theater architectural design and more These opportunities can bring together scholars artists educators and other community members to explore and inspire new understandings of past eras and present injustices During EJI s 2018 Peace and Justice Summit a specific discussion was hosted on Art Entertainment and Racial Identity This inspiring and challenging discussion with Ava DuVernay and Anna Deavere Smith was moderated by awardwinning poet playwright and author Elizabeth Alexander whose Invocation appears at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and who was recently named the head of the Mellon Foundation EJI has also partnered with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater to reflect justice work through dance performance Watch the Peace and Justice Summit discussion here https eji org news artentertainment racial identity avaduvernay anna deavere smith Learn more about EJI s collaboration with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater here https www vogue com slideshow alvinailey spirit benefit 2020 Local community events have included a variety of artistic expressions many featuring contemporary renditions of historical artistic expressions that were well known for their social justice contributions Many communities for example have created unique versions of the classical song Strange Fruit that have created compelling moments of reflection during their community engagement experiences Community members in Athens Ohio hosted a soil collection ceremony in September 2019 During the ceremony an Ohio University theater student Keziah Waters performed a spoken word piece recounting the life and death of Christopher Davis who was lynched on November 21 1881 The moving narrative written by Elijah Bowmen and Patricia Thomas wove together the historical facts of Mr Davis s life his hopes for freedom in Ohio and the devastating outcome of his lynching Keziah s performance received a standing ovation 49
PERFORMANCES THEATER AND THE ARTS
Near Chapel Hill in Orange County North Carolina community members gathered to remember the racial terror lynching of a young African American man named Manly McCauley who was lynched on October 28 1898 After the community had a chance to hear Mr McCauley s story a dance troupe of young Black girls from their community gave a beautiful dance performance Rashii R Purefoy started the Ebon Dancers troupe to create positive opportunities for self esteem and learning for Black children in the community The troupe teaches each student more than just dance focusing also on developing positive values about themselves and life in their community Photo By Donn Young 51
Photo By UAB Bloom Studio BUILDING LOCAL EXHIBITS Local exhibits can provide versatile opportunities for community members to engage with important historical and contemporary information about racial justice 52
BUILDING LOCAL EXHIBITS Photo By Mike Kropf Charlottesville Tomorrow
In July 2018 about 50 residents from Charlottesville Virginia journeyed together near the site where a Black man named John Henry James was lynched in 1898 and held a soil collection ceremony After returning to Charlottesville community members launched a traveling exhibit at the Jefferson Madison Regional Library branches that included one of the jars of soil along with more information about Mr James s lynching and other relevant programming 55
Photo By Jefferson County Memorial Project STUDENT AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT Community members and groups can be creative in their inclusion of young voices as well as intentional in allowing room for youth leadership throughout various educational and engagement opportunities 56
EMERGING VOICES Youth in the community are important voices to include in organizing and engagement Community groups working on remembrance efforts have included youth in various ways including but not limited to research experiences artistic expressions trips to EJI s cultural sites community education events and more EJI has created a number of resources that community members and groups are welcome to use for intentional youth engagement Our Lynching in America report includes an accompanying lesson plan guide for educators The lesson plan and report are available online to download on our Lynching in America website at https lynchinginamerica eji org The website includes graphics and videos as additional educational resources as well The young adult adaptation of Just Mercy is also available for purchase Groups are welcome to use our Discussion Guide available on the https justmercy eji org website In 2018 the Jefferson County Memorial Project JCMP launched efforts to respond to EJI s call to action for remembrance and memorialization Based in Birmingham Alabama JCMP developed a fellowship program for college students interested in furthering the available research about the 30 documented victims of racial terror lynching killed in Jefferson County The first fellows cohort of 2018 conducted research helped to create a report and actively contributed to community conversation and engagement around the history of racial terrorism A committee of local educators also created lesson plans to be used in classrooms in and around Jefferson County to complement the work of the Equal Justice Initiative and JCMP s public education efforts 57
STUDENT AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
In New Castle County Delaware Savannah Shepherd a junior at Sanford High School in Middleton began investigating lynchings in her home state after attending the opening of EJI s National Memorial for Peace and Justice in April 2018 When she discovered the lynching of George White in her county in 1903 she founded the Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition to acknowledge racial terror lynching by pursuing a historical marker In June 2019 Ms Shepherd along with state and local officials led community members in unveiling a historical marker and collecting soil in remembrance of Mr White s lynching Photo By EJI Staff 59
Photo By EJI Staff ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS Offering community members an opportunity to share and or to record oral histories can be a compelling and powerful way to document narratives and perspectives that have too often been ignored or dismissed 60
PRESERVING MEMORIES EJI has documented more than 4 400 Black Americans lynched during the era of racial terror in the United States from 1877 to 1950 as well as nearly 2 000 more documented victims killed during the Reconstruction era from 1865 to 1876 Yet even these thousands of documented victims only make up part of the story Documented victims are those whose deaths were preserved in written accounts yielding newspaper articles death certificates and other reports confirming they died by lynching EJI acknowledges however that many more Black people were killed and terrorized during these eras in lynchings that did not generate written records or were purposely misreported The entire Black community was traumatized by the constant risk of violence and death the fear that they or their loved ones would be victimized and the years of separation created when the threat of lynching forced friends and family members to flee their homes and remain away for years at a time These stories often only exist in the sacred tradition of oral narratives either shared from lived experience or passed down from one generation to another in families and communities In many instances oral accounts can help to complement other kinds of documented information from historical records providing a fuller picture of the individuals and communities most impacted by this history of racial injustice These narratives can also illuminate the ways that the tragic history of racial violence continues to impact descendants and communities today As community members work to document and to acknowledge the local history we encourage you to also consider oral history projects as another component of fostering meaningful dialogue about the history and legacy of racial injustice within the community For more resources on pursuing an oral history project please explore EJI s Lynching in America interactive website that includes audio stories and a short documentary of descendants and family members sharing their experiences with this history https lynchinginamerica eji org listen Isabel Wilkerson s book The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America s Great Migration Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society https www aahgs org 61
ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS
As part of the Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project the Museum Of Science and History MOSH curated a local exhibit about the history of racial terror lynching in Duval County Florida One part of the exhibit featured oral history interviews conducted by a local professor and historian Dr David Jamison with Jacksonville African American elders about their lived experiences with racial violence and segregation These interviews added additional depth to the information presented about the local history Photo By EJI Staff 63
Photo By Paul Gillespie Capital Gazette VIGILS AND GATHERINGS OF REMEMBRANCE Community groups have hosted vigils and gatherings of remembrance to help honor the memory of those who have largely been forgotten by many communities 64
REFLECTIVE GATHERINGS The victims of racial terror lynching rarely had the opportunity to be memorialized by their families and communities during the era of racial terrorism Community members have chosen to host small vigils and gatherings of remembrance to help bring awareness and memory to the broader community These events have often taken place on significant dates of remembrance to a victim s of racial terror lynching and their experience in the community and they may or may not be paired with a community remembrance project such as a soil collection experience These events help to center the experiences of the victims of racial terror violence by sharing their stories with the community and inspiring meaningful reflection A vigil held for victims of racial terror lynching memorializes the life of the person s who were killed and also offers space for the community to reflect on how this act of racial terror has shaped the community they see today A moment of reflection and memorialization for victims of racial violence can also be a way of connecting contemporary events of racialized violence to this broader history of racial injustice Coupled with a local call to action these vigils and gatherings can promote community engagement in various ways In December of 2018 a community remembrance coalition in Montgomery Maryland in Anne Arundel County held a community candlelight vigil to memorialize Henry Davis a Black man who was lynched on December 21 1906 The community gathered at the Arundel Center and the Civil Rights Foot Soldiers Memorial The gathering included several brief speeches from community leaders advocating for further education and for the entire community to reckon with the racial injustices of the past in order to overcome their legacies in the present 65
VIGILS AND GATHERINGS OF REMEMBRANCE
In August of 2020 community members in Montevallo Shelby County Alabama held a community vigil to recognize and remember two Black men who were lynched in Shelby County in 1889 Though press accounts detailed and often justified their lynchings the accounts failed to identify the men s names The memorial service and vigil occurred on the 131st anniversary of the lynching and community members and local officials shared remarks including Montevallo Mayor Hollie Cost who offered a public apology for the lynchings concluding Things like this can never ever happen in our city again Photo By Emily Sparacino 67
Photo By Dara Ollman POLICY CHANGE AND BROADER INITIATIVES Effective community education and awareness can be built upon to galvanize social and political changes dedicated to truth justice and reconcilation 68
SEEKING CHANGE Some communities have sought ways to engage in broader scale policy change and long term initiatives that address historical racial injustice narrative change and contemporary efforts to acknowledge and provide redress for these wrongs These efforts have generally taken the concerted efforts of various community partners over longer periods of time however their commitment to broader initiatives have led to unique opportunities for truth and justice work In 2018 community remembrance partners in Denver Colorado pursued a city level proclamation in remembrance of a 15 year old African American teenager named Preston John Porter Jr whose lynching was connected to decisions made by Denver city officials and law enforcement Members of this coalition and other partners also helped to advance a successful campaign to amend the Constitution of the State of Colorado to officially remove language that made slavery illegal except as punishment for a crime This language was based on the original wording of the 13th Amendment of the U S Constitution In 2019 the Virginia General Assembly passed a state level resolution SJ 297 HJ 655 acknowledging with profound regret the existence and acceptance of lynching within the Commonwealth and calling for reconciliation among all Virginians The resolution was recommended by the Senate s Dr Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Commission and the Commission s History of Lynching in Virginia Work Group This state level resolution was the first of its kind charging the Commission with documenting lynchings that occurred within Virginia developing programming to raise awareness of this history and to lend resources to the installation of historical markers throughout the state 69
POLICY CHANGE AND BROADER INITIATIVES Photo By Maryland Lynching Memorial Project
Launched in 2018 the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project endeavors to advance the cause of reconciliation in our state by documenting the history of racial terror lynchings advocating for public acknowledgement of these murders and working to honor and dignify the lives of the victims The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project other organizations and Delegate Joseline Pe a Melnyk D Anne Arundel and Prince George s Counties partnered to sponsor and help pass the Maryland House Bill 307 which established the first statewide Truth and Reconciliation Commission empowered to investigate racial terror lynchings and address the legacy of racial terror Efforts are underway to develop the strategy the Commission will use to help advance a statewide conversation about the history and legacy of lynching designed to bolster education and support reparatory efforts 71
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TCEJORP ECNARBMEMER YTINUMMOC S IJE HTIW GNITCENNOC Photo By Christian Smooth
Photo By EJI Staff Connecting with EJI s Community Remembrance Project As part of our effort to help communities confront and recover from tragic histories of racial violence and terrorism EJI supports local community work through our Community Remembrance Project Based on EJI s conviction about the power of proximity all of our Community Remembrance Projects are coalitionfacilitated intentionally community based and rooted in both local and national history EJI s Community Remembrance Project CRP opportunities include its Soil Collection Community Project Historical Marker Project and Racial Justice Essay Contest Community members are invited to review their intentional community assessment and prior efforts to advance community education and engagement to determine how CRP projects fit within the context of their community s needs Based on these findings community members interested in pursuing CRP projects can work towards becoming a CRP coalition CRP coalitions form in order to support local remembrance and memorialization efforts and work directly with EJI to facilitate Community Remembrance Projects XX 74
Planning for a local CRP Coalition can begin with community members discussing their shared interests in CRP work and connecting with other local stakeholders who may have an interest in supporting local remembrance work Stakeholders can include individual community members dedicated to the work of truth telling and reconciliation as well as organizations including but not limited to local advocacy groups local churches and religious organizations youth groups and community centers and organizations working on racial justice education and engagement such as local NAACP chapters Outreach efforts will vary depending on the community Members of a local CRP coalition do not need to be directly affiliated with a particular organization and the inclusion of as many people who have varying connections to the greater community will add an abundance to the collective community consciousness and awareness of the coalition CRP coalitions should consider how to continue their efforts in community education and engagement as they look to connect with EJI concerning CRP projects Direct engagement with the community through public education opportunities helps to strengthen a CRP coalition s ability to participate in EJI facilitated projects XX Photos By Black Excellence Photography
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
CRP coalition partners can do this in a number of ways such as further educational opportunities developing annual remembrance events pursuing broader initiatives and advancing local projects that combine advocacy and service to those impacted by the historical legacies of racial injustice Whether working together or within their respective spheres CRP coalition members can each contribute to local remembrance work in unique ways and are encouraged to explore how they would like to help contribute to a local legacy of remembrance and repair To connect with others in your community interested in developing a local CRP coalition or pursuing CRP projects EJI is able to provide mutual connection information when available to community members who have completed our Community Remembrance Interest Form at https tinyurl com CRP Monument Interest Form To learn more about the community efforts displayed in this section please refer to our Featured Communities section at the end of the catalog on pages 143 161 Photo By Dave Russell Buffalo Heart Images 77
Photo By Michael S Williamson The Washington Post Charlottesville Virginia In July 2018 community members organized a soil collection community ceremony in remembrance of John Henry James near the site where Mr James was lynched in 1898
Soil Collection Community Project In 2015 EJI began working with communities across the country to commemorate and recognize the traumatic era of racial terror by collecting soil from lynching sites The Soil Collection Community Project provides a tangible way for community members to confront the legacy of racial terror lynchings and to memorialize the African American victims whose lives were lost and the communities impacted by such violence These projects have proven to be incredibly impactful to those who have participated and community partners who have completed soil collections continually express the deep meaning and emotional impact of these experiences Community remembrance coalitions work with EJI to collaboratively research each victim s story identify potential locations for the soil collection facilitate community education opportunities and plan a meaningful soil collection ceremony based on the unique features of each community Many jars of collected soil are on display in Montgomery Alabama at the Legacy Museum From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration Some CRP coalitions also choose to establish permanent or traveling exhibits with the jars of soil in their community EJI can work with CRP coalitions to discuss options for local soil collection exhibits which often entail placing the collected jars of soil in prominent community spaces such as libraries community centers and history museums where ongoing education around the effort can occur 79
Photo By EJI Staff LEONARDTOWN ST MARY S COUNTY MD NOVEMBER 2019
IN THE SOIL THERE IS THE SWEAT OF THE ENSLAVED IN THE SOIL THERE IS THE BLOOD OF VICTIMS OF RACIAL VIOLENCE AND LYNCHING THERE ARE TEARS IN THE SOIL FROM ALL THOSE WHO LABORED UNDER THE INDIGNATION AND HUMILIATION OF SEGREGATION BUT IN THE SOIL THERE IS ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW LIFE A CHANCE TO GROW SOMETHING HOPEFUL AND HEALING FOR THE FUTURE BRYAN STEVENSON EJI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 81
Photos By Dennis Howard TALLAHASSEE LEON COUNTY FL FEBRUARY 2020 82
I M HOPING THAT THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW FOR OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY TO HAVE A PLACE AND A POINT BY WHICH THEY CAN COME TOGETHER AND WE LEARN AND LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND ENGAGE IN SOME HEALING WORK BYRON GREENE MEMBER OF THE TALLAHASSEE COMMUNITY REMEMBRANCE PROJECT 83
Photos By EJI Staff I FELT LIKE WE WERE HONORING HIS LIFE THE MAN WAS A REAL HUMAN BEING HE HAD HOPES AND DREAMS THAT WERE UNREALIZED THERE WAS NO JUSTICE HE WAS DRAGGED THROUGH THE STREETS HERE REV HOWARD C COPELAND HOSANNA WORSHIP CENTER POOLESVILLE MONTGOMERY COUNTY MD NOVEMBER 2020 84
Photos By EJI Staff IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO MEET THESE THREE MEN BECAUSE OF THEIR LEGACY AND QUESTION WHAT HAPPENED TO EQUALITY IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI CARROLL JOHNSON DESCENDANT OF FRANK JOHNSON 1 OF AT LEAST 6 VICTIMS OF RACIAL TERROR LYNCHING KILLED IN NEWTON COUNTY MISSISSIPPI HICKORY NEWTON COUNTY MS AUGUST 2019 85
Photo By Taylored Media Productions OMAHA DOUGLAS COUNTY NE SEPTEMBER 2019 86
Photo By Taylored Media Productions Bottom Photos By EJI Staff WE SHOULD SAY LEST WE FORGET FOR SURE BUT WE SHOULD ALSO SAY NEVER AGAIN OMAHA CITY COUNCILMAN BEN GRAY 87
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Photos By Chris Baker Evans WE CANNOT FORGET THAT LYNCHING TOOK PLACE HERE NOT IN THE DEEP SOUTH BUT HERE IN CHESTER COUNTY STATE SENATOR ANDY DINNIMAN AT LEAST 300 RACIAL TERROR LYNCHINGS HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED IN NON SOUTHERN STATES BETWEEN 1877 AND 1950 COATESVILLE CHESTER COUNTY PA NOVEMBER 2017 89
ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY GA MAY 2019 Photos By Rey Granger ALLISON BANTIMBA COALITION LIAISON FULTON COUNTY REMEMBRANCE COALITION 90
WE WANT TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE AROUND HOW WE TALK ABOUT OUR HISTORY MOST OF THIS HAPPENED IN PUBLIC SPACES PEOPLE KEPT SOUVENIRS THERE WERE POSTCARDS IT REALLY WAS TERRORISM AND WE VE NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED THE SEVERITY OF IT AND THAT IT CONTINUES TO HAPPEN IN VARIOUS FORMS 91
Photo By Reed Jones Oxford Mississippi In October 2018 E W Higginbottom participated in a marker dedication ceremony acknowledging the lynching of his father Elwood Higginbottom in Oxford Mississippi in 1935
Historical Marker Project EJI is working with CRP coalitions across the country to install narrative historical markers at the sites of racial terror lynchings Historical markers are a compelling tool in the creation of a permanent record of racial terror violence that provides everyone in the community exposure to our shared history of racial injustice EJI s historical markers detail the narrative events surrounding a specific lynching victim or group of racial terror lynching victims and the history of racial terrorism in America CRP coalitions and EJI work collaboratively to identify potential sites for historical markers draft the text for the marker s and plan a meaningful historical marker unveiling ceremony In support of these efforts EJI funds the fabrication and shipping of historical markers through the Community Remembrance Project EJI believes that historical markers change our national landscape they publicly claim the truth in necessary ways We have partnered with dozens of communities to date to erect markers and host unveiling ceremonies To honor communities who have erected historical markers through our CRP efforts and to inspire new efforts EJI plans to incorporate these stories into the National Memorial for Peace and Justice 93
Photo By Justin Wayne Lutz MONTEVALLO SHELBY COUNTY AL JUNE 2020
THE PUBLIC NARRATIVE A NATION CREATES ABOUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS REFLECTED IN MEMORIALS AND MONUMENTS WHO IS HONORED WHAT IS REMEMBERED WHAT IS MEMORIALIZED TELL A STORY ABOUT A SOCIETY THAT CAN T BE REFLECTED IN OTHER WAYS BRYAN STEVENSON EJI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 95
Photos By EJI Human Pictures ABBEVILLE ABBEVILLE COUNTY SC OCTOBER 2016 96
MY FAMILY DIDN T LEAVE THE SOUTH THEY WERE CHASED AWAY FROM THE SOUTH DORIA JOHNSON DESCENDANT OF ANTHONY CRAWFORD 97
Marker Photos By Albert Fields Photo By Schaune Griffin DEKALB IS BELIEVED TO BE JUST THE SECOND GOVERNMENT ENTITY IN GEORGIA TO FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE LYNCHINGS THAT OCCURRED WITHIN ITS BORDERS ATLANTA NEWS NOW DECATUR DEKALB COUNTY GA MAY 2020 98
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Photos By Tulsa Community Remembrance Project TULSA TULSA COUNTY OK SEPTEMBER 2020 1 00
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Photos By EJI Staff THE EVENT HONORED LYNCHING VICTIMS G SMITH WATKINS ED BRACY AND JIM PRESS MERIWEATHER WHO WERE KILLED IN 1935 FOR STARTING A LOWNDES COUNTY SHARECROPPERS UNION JOSEPHINE BOLLING MCCALL DESCENDANT OF ELMORE BOLLING 1 OF AT LEAST 16 DOCUMENTED VICTIMS OF RACIAL TERROR LYNCHING IN LOWNDES COUNTY ALABAMA FORT DEPOSIT LOWNDES COUNTY AL DECEMBER 2019 1 02
Photos By EJI Desmond McIntyre BY PUBLICLY RECOGNIZING THAT LYNCHING OCCURRED HERE AND PERMANENTLY MARKING THESE HORRIFIC ACTS AS EVENTS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE WE CAN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND ATONEMENT THAT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD AS A PEOPLE DEDICATED TO THE IDEA THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUALLY IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD BISHOP JAMES V JOHNSTON JR MISSOURI CATHOLIC CONFERENCE KANSAS CITY JACKSON COUNTY MO DECEMBER 2018 103
Photos By EJI Staff SELMA DALLAS COUNTY AL MARCH 2018 104
SOME PEOPLE WANT TO LEAVE HISTORY IN THE PAST BUT THAT CANNOT HAPPEN PEOPLE SAY THEY STAND ON HOLY GROUND WHEN THEY ARE IN SELMA AINKA SANDERS SELMA CENTER FOR NONVIOLENCE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION 105
Photos By Caleb Chancey Letohatchee Lowndes County AL In August 2016 EJI launched a Racial Justice Essay Contest for all high school students living in or attending public high school in Lowndes County Alabama The first place prize was awarded to Central High School 10th grader Yamiri B Mants for his essay Things Remain the Same
Racial Justice Essay Contest EJI sponsors the Racial Justice Essay Contest as another option for communities to advance local CRP efforts These contests are designed to invite local public high school students educators and other community members to learn more about the history of racial injustice and to engage in conversations about racial justice and equality Typically the contest is open to 9th 12th graders attending public high schools in the county of the coalition Generally EJI distributes at least 5000 in scholarship awards among the chosen contest winners and all students who submit an essay will receive gifts of appreciation for their participation In order to provide students with a supportive amount of time to prepare their essays the essay contest duration options are semesterlong or academic year long Community remembrance coalitions and EJI work together to develop a facilitation plan for the contest and EJI provides a customized website for each community s contest to support CRP coalitions in their outreach about the essay contest Each customized website includes all of the contest information needed for outreach to schools educators students and the community Once the contest closes winning essays are chosen by EJI and prizes and awards are provided To celebrate the Nashville Tennessee students we encourage CRP coalitions to plan an event or ceremony to acknowledge the students participation as another opportunity to uplift student voices inJustice conversations of In 2019 the We Remember Nashville coalition hosted an EJI Racial Essay Contest justice and equity available to students in Davidson County racial Tennessee 107
Photos By Black Excellence Photography ORLANDO ORANGE COUNTY FLORIDA JUNE 2019
PROXIMITY HAS TAUGHT ME SOME BASIC AND HUMBLING TRUTHS INCLUDING THIS VITAL LESSON EACH OF US IS MORE THAN THE WORST THING WE VE EVER DONE BRYAN STEVENSON EJI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 109
Photos Contributed to EJI IN DECEMBER 2017 EJI ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS OF A RACIAL JUSTICE ESSAY CONTEST HELD IN TRAVIS COUNTY TEXAS AND AWARDED 5000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS THE FIRST PLACE PRIZE WAS AWARDED TO WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE JEMIMA A B A L O G U F O R H E R E S S A Y E N T I T L E D W E C A N N O T F O R G E T T H E C O N T I N U A T I O N O F P O L I C E B R U T A L I T Y A G A I N S T A F R I CA N A M E R I C A N YOUTH AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY TX DECEMBER 2017 110
Photo By Belinda Brewer Left Above Photos By EJI Staff IN DECEMBER 2018 EJI ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS OF A RACIAL JUSTICE ESSAY CONTEST HELD IN SHELBY COUNTY TEXAS AND AWARDED 5000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS THE FIRST PLACE PRIZE WAS A W A R D E D T O C E N T E R H I G H S C H O O L J U N I O R M A R K P E R K I N S F O R HIS ESSAY ENTITLED BLACK AND WHITE MAKE GREY CENTER SHELBY COUNTY TX DECEMBER 2018 111
BIRMINGHAM JEFFERSON COUNTY AL FEBRUARY 2020 Photos By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times AIMEE HOWARD FIRST PLACE WINNER JUNIOR AT RAMSAY HIGH SCHOOL 6000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO WINNERS OF THE JEFFERSON COUNTY AL RACIAL JUSTICE ESSAY CONTEST 11 2 XX
I T IS TI ME FO R TH IS N ATIO N TO BE HELD ACC OU NT AB L E A N D I T WI L L N OT CO M E TH RO U GH C OMP LACEN CY IN STEAD IT WIL L C O M E TH R OUG H THE PE O PLE OF TH IS N ATION DEM AN D IN G THA T T H E S YS TE MIC ISS UES PLA GUIN G T HIS C O UN TR Y BE PLU CKED FR O M THE ROO TS OF JU S TICE AN D E QU ALI TY AIMEE S FIRST PLACE ESSAY ENTITLED THE RACIAL DIVIDE 113
Photos By EJI Staff Contributed to EJI I N O C TO BER 2 018 EJI ANN OU NCED TH E W IN N ERS FO R A R AC I A L J U S T IC E E SSA Y C ONTE ST HE L D IN ST J OH N S COU N TY FL ORID A A N D A W A RD E D 6 000 IN SCHO LARSH IPS TH E FIR ST PLA CE P RIZ E W A S A W A R DE D TO BAR TAM TRA IL HIG H SC H OO L JU NI OR JU LIAN N A C H I C E RE LLI FOR HER ESSA Y EN TITE D FR EEDO M IS N E VER GI V E N ST AUGUSTINE ST JOHNS COUNTY FLORIDA OCTOBER 2018 11 4
Photos By Christian Smooth I N S EP TE MBER 201 9 E JI A NN OU N CED TH E W INN ERS F OR A R A C I A L J U S TI CE ESSA Y C ONTE ST H EL D IN AN NE ARU N DE L COU NT Y M A R Y L AN D A ND A WA RDE D 6 0 0 0 IN SCH O LARSH I PS TH E FI R S T P L A C E P RIZE WA S AW ARD ED T O MEA DE H IGH S CHO OL JUN I O R MA DISO N MED LEY FO R HER ESSA Y EN TITL ED GU ILTY UN TI L PR OVEN INN OCE N T ANNAPOLIS ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY MD SEPTEMBER 2019 115
Photos By John Michael Simpson NASHVILLE DAVIDSON COUNTY TN JUNE 2019 11 6
I N J UNE 2019 EJI ANN OU N CED TH E W IN NE RS O F A R ACI A L J US TICE ESSA Y C ONTE ST H ELD IN D AVIDS ON C OU N TY TE N NESSE E AN D A WAR DED 500 0 IN SCH O LARSH IP S T H E FI RS T PLA CE P RIZE W A S AW ARD ED T O R EPU BLIC H IGH S C H OOL SENIO R PRI N CES S DU NCA N FO R H ER ESS AY E NT ITLED TH E AME RICA N M ALAD Y TH AT IS RACI SM 117
Montgomery AL Since April 2018 hundreds of thousands of people have visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice as the first national memorial dedicated to more than 4 400 African American victims of racial terror lynching
National Memorial Monument Placement It is EJI s hope that the National Memorial for Peace and Justice continues to inspire communities across the nation to enter an era of truth telling about racial injustice and their own local histories EJI s community remembrance work is part of a larger movement to create an era of restorative truth telling and justice that changes the social consciousness of our nation After active community remembrance and education work EJI will also collaborate with local coalitions and community members to place a monument like those represented in the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in their community When a county s memorial monument is installed as an accompanying feature of their community work and dialogue we hope that it can further emphasize the work done so far and stand as a symbolic reminder of the community s continuing commitment to truthfully grapple with the pain of historic racial injustices challenge contemporary injustices where they persist and never to repeat the terror and violence of the past 119
The National Memorial For Peace and Justice Montgomery AL
THE MONUMENT PLACEMENT ISN T MEANINGFUL UNLESS IT S SURROUNDED BY INCREASED CONSCIOUSNESS BRYAN STEVENSON EJI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 121
PURSUING AN ERA OF TRUTH AN 122
D JUSTICE The process of local communities claiming their memorial monuments is about much more than transporting and installing the physical monuments themselves Rather it first requires an effort to encourage communities across the nation to engage in genuine and sustained work that advances a new era of truth and justice by confronting racial history in a way that most communities have not yet pursued EJI appreciates that this type of meaningful engagement work takes time and long term commitment There is no one size fits all timeline or approach when it comes to local community remembrance and engagement efforts As more logistical details become available about the process to claim the National Memorial monuments EJI will update community partners and our public communication channels with that information As this work continues EJI encourages communities to view the organizing dialogue and remembrance events as the most substantive and impactful features of a larger racial justice movement that goes beyond the memorial monuments themselves
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DEVLOVNI TEG OT SPETS Photo By Reed Jones
Photo By EJI Staff LOWNDES COUNTY ALABAMA NOVEMBER 2019
CRP FURTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED GOLATAC PRC IJE The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States to challenging racial and economic injustice and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society As community members consider ways they can help to promote more fairness more equity and more racial justice in their community we welcome each person to visit our website for more ways to get involved in these efforts https eji org get involved For community members interested in further ways to promote criminal justice reform our organization encourages taking steps to Learn More about wrongful convictions mental illness and criminal justice drug addiction and dependency children prosecuted as adults policing gun violence and the death penalty Several resources are listed on our website to support this engagement step Take Action to consider the entry point that you might be able to connect with and support including but not limited to supporting re entry services volunteering with criminal justice reform organizations in your community advocating for equitable policies and exploring ways to support those who are currently incarcerated We provide a national list of organizations to consider and other resources to support this step Teach Others and Join The Conversation through various community education and engagement opportunities like those described in this catalog Visit EJI s Sites to have firsthand experience in reflecting and reckoning with our national history and its legacy concerning racial injustice Vote and use your voice to help advocate for needed changes on behalf of your community and those grappling with these challenges in your community You can learn more about organizations that may be doing re entry or criminal justice reform work in your area by reviewing the list of organizations document available on our Get Involved Page as well 12 7
CRP EJI RESOURCES GOLATAC PRC IJE 12 8 EJI offers educational resources to supplement conversations about race in America These include historical reports films books short videos discussion guides curricula and calendars Most are available for viewing online and physical copies can be ordered REPORTS EJI has developed several reports documenting eras of racial injustice in America that can be accessed online at eji org reports Our reports include Slavery in America focusing on the Domestic Slave Trade https eji org reports slavery in america Reconstruction in America examining the 12 year period following the Civil War and the struggle for racial justice after emancipation https eji org report reconstruction in america Lynching in America chronicling racial terror lynching from 1877 to 1950 https lynchinginamerica eji org Targeting Black Veterans discussing the targeted lynching of Black veterans https eji org reports targeting black veterans Segregation in America documenting legalized racial segregation and the battle for civil rights due to massive white resistance to racial equality https eji org reports segregation in america Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection exploring how racial bias in jury selection influences contemporary criminal justice outcomes https eji org reports illegal racial discrimination in jury selection CALENDAR EJI s award winning History of Racial Injustice Calendar features daily entries and essays on people and events in American history that are critically important but not well known Visit online at https calendar eji org
CRP GOLATAC PRC IJE BOOKS To view EJI s recommended reading list please visit https tinyurl com EJIRecommended Reading EJI related bestselling books include Just Mercy is a 1 New York Times bestselling memoir by Attorney Bryan Stevenson about the work of EJI Learn more at justmercy eji org The Sun Does Shine How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row is the bestselling memoir of Anthony Ray Hinton recounting the nearly 30 years he spent on Alabama s death row for a crime he did not commit https eji org news the sun does shine VIDEOS AND FILMS EJI s videos can be accessed at eji org videos These brief videos cover a range of topics of historical and current issues and are a great tool for educators and community members alike EJI film resources include Emmy Award winning documentary True Justice Bryan Stevenson s Fight for Equality following 30 years of EJI s work on behalf of the poor the incarcerated and the condemned https eji org projects true justice The Just Mercy movie presents the unforgettable story of Bryan Stevenson Michael B Jordan and the case of Walter McMillian Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit Based on the best selling book the film won Four NAACP Image Awards and was selected as one of President Obama s Favorite Movies of 2019 Learn more at justmercy eji org VIDEOS DISCUSSION GUIDES AND CURRICULA EJI has discussion guides and curricula that are age adaptable prepared according to Common Core standards and accompany many of our reports films and books To explore these resources visit Lynching in America curriculum for 9 12th grade students https tinyurl com LIA Lesson Plan Just Mercy discussion guide https tinyurl com JustMercy Discussion Guide Flipgrid Educator Resources https admin flipgrid com discovery partners 53 129
Photo By EJI Staff BESSEMER JEFFERSON COUNTY ALABAMA OCTOBER 2019
CRP NEXT STEPS TO ENGAGE EJI S CRP GOLATAC PRC IJE EJI is encouraged by the breadth of ways that communities are engaging in remembrance work to reckon with their local histories across the nation EJI offers our Community Remembrance Project to complement these local efforts that center the African American experience of racial injustice and use truth telling to give voice to that experience and expose its legacies CRP coalitions serve as bridges to the community in helping to facilitate CRP projects while consistently engaging community members for input dialogue and active participation EJI seeks to partner with developing CRP coalitions whose local connections and relationships are good reflections of the county in which the coalition will be based To take the next steps towards participating in EJI s Community Remembrance Projects developing CRP coalitions can complete an expression of interest submission to share with EJI using the question set on the following page Community groups are welcome to share what they are currently envisioning and EJI s Community Remembrance Team will look forward to following up with more details about pursuing a CRP approach for your specific community BASIC REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS CRP coalitions should include at least five 5 members with different affiliations who all contribute to the expression of interest submission CRP coalitions should also be able to demonstrate a commitment to the intentional inclusion of local African American community members cultural leaders and institutions with direct ties to the community where these efforts will take place Please email expression of interest submissions to communityremembrance eji org Coalitions can request the expression of interest questions CRP Values and pledge statement as a Word document by email 131
CRP EXPRESSION OF INTEREST QUESTIONS GOLATAC TCEJORP ECNARBMEMER YTINUMMOC IJE 13 2 DEVELOPING CRP COALITION INFORMATION Please provide the following information Contact names for two core coalition members of the CRP coalition able to correspond with EJI Email Address es Phone Number s County and State of Interest Have the coalition contacts lived in the community for at least two years Has the coalition read the Reconstruction in America report and the Lynching in America Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror in America report COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS 1 Please tell us about the CRP coalition members It would be helpful to know how you came together and the motivation for interest in EJI s CRP projects for your community In this response please also share the names and affiliations of the main members of the CRP coalition including whether any coalition members are elected officials or local government entities and detailing the group s intentional inclusion of African American community members local leaders and institutions 2 Please describe the current demographics of your county How might these demographics influence local community remembrance work 3 To the best of your knowledge which organizations or entities in your community are most engaged in racial justice work and which have not yet taken the opportunity to confront this history Are there connections to these groups within your existing coalition 4 What if any prior efforts in this county and or community have taken place over the last 10 years related to reckoning with the history of racial terrorism and lynching Are you aware of any efforts that involved relatives of any lynching victim s Depending on your answer explain the community response 5 What types of outreach do you believe could be most effective in allowing the broader community to engage with the history of racial terror and its present day legacies
GOLATAC TCEJORP ECNARBMEMER YTINUMMOC IJE 6 How does your community currently understand the connections between local histories of racial injustice and inequality and contemporary challenges that still impact Black people and people of color today in your community 7 At the heart of EJI s Community Remembrance Project is narrative change The stories we tell about our history reveal our collective consciousness and the alignment between our beliefs and our actions These narratives also define the boundaries of how we respond to contemporary issues How does your group hope these projects could impact narratives in your community EJI CRP QUESTIONS 1 EJI s Community Remembrance Projects include 1 hosting community soil collections 2 erecting historical markers and 3 hosting a racial justice essay contest for public high school students Please share how your group would like to pursue one or more of these projects as well as any information about the other public education efforts you are doing in the community Does your coalition have a time frame in mind that you would like to begin pursuing these projects 2 As the bridge between the community and EJI for the facilitation of these projects can you elaborate on your group s approach to collaboration and conflict resolution within the group and externally with the community Please detail how you have operated or plan to organize the coalition as it relates to leadership and collaborative roles 3 Based on your familiarity with the community and responses to the community assessment questions what similarities and differences do you anticipate will emerge between the responses of African American community members and those of community members who are not African American to these projects in your area How do you think your group will plan to handle and or respond to any resistance to this effort and projects 4 Please list any questions or concerns your working group has for EJI at this time 5 Please review the CRP Values and Pledge section on pages 134 138 Submit a completed pledge statement with your expression of interest answers For more information please see the FAQ section of the catalog on page 141 THANK YOU 133
CRP CRP VALUES AND PLEDGE GOLATAC PRC IJE 134 EJI hopes that the CRP effort will be a continued process that emphasizes the need for and the power of collective remembrance Local coalitions have the opportunity to facilitate conversations and experiences that increase local commitment to restorative justice and collective healing and change how community members interact with each other To facilitate a process of healing and repair we ask that our partner coalitions commit to honoring certain values as you engage in community remembrance work Through these values we commit to healing and repair both in the substance of the work and through the process by which the work is done Please review these values consider if there are local values that should also be included and please affirm these values as individuals and a collective engaged in this work if your coalition would like to pursue EJI s Community Remembrance Projects NARRATIVE TRUTH TELLING Facilitate a deeper understanding of the era of racial terrorism Remembering and acknowledging the past is a way to practice justice Narrative truth telling recognizes that creating a more just society is possible but it requires us learning from our past and being willing to confront the silence and false narratives that have maintained injustice in our present How we live with the past repeating its legacies or disrupting legacies of injustice depends on how we remember and talk about the past When we use language that accurately and precisely describes what happened and why it happened we create space for restorative justice It is important to have a clear narrative story about the racial terror lynchings that took place in your community and what interests those lynchings were designed to protect Narrative truth telling has the power to shed light on contemporary forms of racial injustice It helps communities say never again to racial injustice by clarifying the roles of white supremacy violence and injustice in maintaining racial hierarchy Without narrative truth telling we may misunderstand racial terrorism as a thing of the past that is unconnected to the way we live our lives today
CRP GOLATAC PRC IJE TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACH Prioritize the voices of those closest to the individuals being memorialized Racial terror lynchings targeted entire communities while also targeting individuals and their families These projects and the other engagement efforts that community coalitions develop should center the African American experience of racial injustice empower African American community members who have directly borne this trauma and invite the entire community to use truth to give voice to those experiences and expose their legacies Trauma informed work prioritizes the lived experiences of people directly harmed It takes national phenomena and makes them particular and personal It invites those directly harmed to share the weight of their burden and allows the community to bear witness as a form of solidarity and commitment to improvement Without this commitment to a trauma informed approach remembrance work may feel abstract and intangible Anchoring the work in the reality of the impact of this injustice allows space for meaningful repair to be developed COLLABORATION Consistently make space for your strength and my strength to become our collective strength The pain that led to the tragic deaths we are memorializing was created by collaborative violence and silence The process of remembering publicly acknowledging and learning from this history must also unfold through collaborative effort Creating cultures that model commitment to racial justice requires that we recognize the diversity of strengths we all bring to the table and seek opportunities to celebrate each other s successes Collaboration helps to create a culture that models the racial justice we want in our communities It recognizes the diversity of strengths we all bring to the table and seeks opportunities to use each person s strengths to better the collective work Lack of collaboration is harmful to collective goals When decision making power isn t shared meaningfully and effectively the coalition does not benefit from the full potential of the community 13 5
CRP GOLATAC PRC IJE 136 LISTENING WITH RESPECT Pay attention to what is and is not being said Staying open to new ideas and new voices requires commitment to listening and respecting the person offering the idea Offer respect to every coalition member and sincerely listen to their ideas We agree to listen also to silence and recognize that silence does not always convey agreement Sometimes people are silent because they feel disempowered or not valued Invite people into conversations in which your primary role is to listen for understanding Listening with respect allows the group to benefit from the widest range of feedback People are more likely to provide valuable guidance feedback and redirection when they believe that their voice will be taken seriously Effective collaboration requires listening with respect A lack of listening with respect can reduce support for the coalition even when people value the work being done It can lead to interpersonal challenges that prevent widespread community engagement with the local history the coalition wishes to elevate JUST KINDNESS Consistently act and speak from a place of goodwill towards others In this effort coalition members will encounter individuals in different places along the spectrum of engagement understanding willingness to hear learn and see and openness to this meaningful and necessary conversation Regardless of where someone falls on the spectrum of supporting or resisting our efforts we agree to treat each person with kindness that is grounded in our commitment to truth and reconciliation We choose to approach adversarial reactions with grace for the other person committing to a response that reflects the need for collective healing We choose to offer strategic and tactical responses to move the work forward in a healthy way Kindness supports people through the difficult work of pushing past discomfort in order to elevate justice It invites people to come to the work as they are and then work in community with others to reimagine what is possible A lack of kindness can lead to responses that further reduce the level of support for the community remembrance project Kindness is a position we can choose to rise to in the midst of difficult circumstances with others
CRP GOLATAC PRC IJE OPEN COMMUNICATION Share any information that is relevant to the work Open communication ensures that everyone in the coalition feels engaged and empowered to contribute to the advancement of the coalition s efforts Effective communication ensures that the coalition is on the same page and works collaboratively towards shared goals Open communication is also a tool to help navigate any challenges that may arise Each member of the group comes from different backgrounds and a range of personal and professional responsibilities Communicating clearly and proactively can help to work through any conflict that might distract from the work Open communication requires a foundation of trust Trust within the coalition will grow and strengthen over time This commitment will create space for coalition members to be vulnerable and open with the remembrance work SELF AWARENESS Reflect often on whether your own participation is advancing the work of raising awareness and the work of building community Community members come to this work in a variety of ways Some have extensive backgrounds in talking about race and poverty Others wish to grow in those skills by supporting existing conversations or launching new ones Come to the work open ready to learn and share and willing to reflect on your own exposure to racial equity and inequity throughout your life Participate in the work in ways that avoid hierarchy and instead prioritize grassroots organizing Self awareness allows us to consciously choose how to engage with those around us It makes space for other people to share equitably and collaboratively This leads to more effective engagement as a team A lack of self awareness can push the important work of memorialization to the margins and center the interests and priorities of people who have not done the work of self reflection 13 7
CRP GOLATAC PRC IJE COMMITMENT Commit to a long term engagement with this work Coalitions are encouraged to engage in genuine and sustained work aimed at advancing a new era of truth and justice The community remembrance projects are more than discrete projects but an opportunity to build an infrastructure of truth telling that lasts for generations The symbolism of some of these projects is strengthened by building an environment and culture that reckons with the past and its legacies A long term commitment to this work means that each individual commits to work towards a more just community beyond the duration of the life of any specific projects CRP VALUES PLEDGE Please select only one of the following pledge options to include at the end of your expression of interest answers Please include the pledge option of your choice into your expression of interest document and insert names of the coalition contacts and any others who would like to be represented in the pledge agreement along with any additional information as needed We INSERT NAMEs pledge to uphold the values of Narrative Truth Telling Trauma Informed Approach Collaboration Listening with Respect Just Kindness Open Communication Self Awareness and Commitment personally and in our involvement as members of this coalition while participating in the Community Remembrance Project Likewise we pledge to be open to others holding us accountable to these Community Remembrance Project Values We INSERT NAMES pledge to uphold the following values of INSERT VALUES but decline to uphold the values of INSERT VALUES for the following reason s 13 8
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Photos By Derrick McDowell SANDUSKY ERIE COUNTY OHIO NOVEMBER 2019
CRP FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS GOLATAC TCEJORP ECNARBMEMER YTINUMMOC IJE After submitting the expression of interest how long does it take to receive a response from EJI After submitting the expression of interest community members will receive confirmation of receipt As part of the review process EJI will also follow up with any additional questions On average the review process can take 4 6 weeks How long does it take to do the soil collection historical marker essay contest The timelines for each of these projects vary for each community As part of the facilitation process EJI provides detailed guidance on the different stages for each project Typically it can take 3 6 months after submitting the expression of interest to be able to host the community soil collection ceremony 6 months to a year before the historical marker dedication ceremony and at least 2 3 months of preparation before launching the essay contest How long does it take to receive the narrative historical marker How much does it cost As part of EJI s support to communities who participate in this project we cover the cost of fabrication and shipping of historical markers It can take about 10 12 weeks for fabrication and shipping once the order for the marker is placed When can we launch the essay contest Do we have to develop the contest guidelines and prompts The essay contest can be customized for each community to be launched in the fall spring or for a full traditional academic year EJI s essay contest is pre designed to include all necessary prompts and guidelines for students parents and educators Before the contest can be launched community members will share an outreach and student engagement plan with EJI while fostering relationships with educators parents students and other community organizations How do we claim our community s monument from the National Memorial for Peace and Justice After active community education and remembrance work EJI will collaborate with communities to place a monument in the community The process of placing the monument in a community is about more than the physical structure it requires an effort to encourage community members to engage in genuine and sustained work that advances a new era of truth and justice by confronting racial history in ways that most communities have never done The projects EJI offers through CRP are one form this work can take EJI will share more logistical details about this effort when they become available 141
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FEATURED COMMUNITIES HIGHLIGHTED IN CONNECTING PAST AND PRESENT ADVANCING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONNECTING WITH EJI S COMMUNITY REMEMBRANCE PROJECT 143
ABBEVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA In October 2016 on the 100th anniversary of the lynching of Anthony Crawford community members family members and supporters from across the nation gathered together for a two day experience to memorialize Mr Crawford in Abbeville Abbeville County South Carolina Community members gathered in a local park for a Freedom School followed by a soil collection ceremony the unveiling of the historical marker and awarding of over 6000 in scholarships to the high school student winners of EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest Photos By EJI Human Pictures ANNAPOLIS MARYLAND On September 7 2019 the Connecting the Dots coalition erected a historical marker in Annapolis Maryland for the five documented victims of racial terror in Anne Arundel County The ceremony attended by nearly 400 community members featured thoughtful remarks from elected officials religious leaders and social justice activists High school students were also awarded 6000 in scholarship prizes for the Racial Justice Essay Contest As the marker was unveiled the crowd gathered around it held hands and sang Lean on Me before gathering for post ceremony breakout discussions Photos By Christian Smooth top photos Paul Gillespie Capital Gazette bottom left 14 4
ATHENS OHIO Early in 2019 the Christopher Davis Community Remembrance Project began in Athens Athens County Ohio in memory of Christopher Davis a 24 year old Black man husband and father of two who was lynched by a white mob on November 21 1881 Over 300 community members attended the coalition s September 2019 soil collection event and in June 2020 the coalition installed a historical marker near the site where Mr Davis was hanged Five winners were also awarded 6000 in scholarships from EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest Photo By Claire Rounkles ATLANTA GEORGIA In the fall of 2018 community members from Atlanta and various communities in Fulton County Georgia came together to form the Fulton County Remembrance Coalition FCRC dedicated to remembering and memorializing the 35 known documented victims of racial terror lynching killed in Fulton County between 1877 and 1950 From that time FCRC has hosted numerous public education and engagement events from film screenings to panel discussions and in the spring of 2019 FCRC pursued a series of public soil collection events to collect soil for all 35 of the Fulton County victims of racial terror lynching The soil became part of a permanent soil collection exhibit housed at the Auburn Avenue Library in Atlanta Photos By Rey Granger 145
AUSTIN TX On December 16 2017 community members and civic leaders gathered with EJI in Austin Travis County Texas to unveil a historical marker to memorialize two African American victims of racial terror lynching killed in 1894 During the unveiling event hosted at Wesley United Methodist Church where the marker was installed EJI announced five winners of the Racial Justice Essay Contest and awarded them 5000 in scholarships Photos By EJI Staff Contributed to EJI BESSEMER ALABAMA In the fall of 2019 CRP coalition members in Bessemer Alabama partnered with EJI to host a soil collection in honor of Hardy Posey and John Chandler two of the four documented victims of racial terror lynching in Bessemer Elders and young alike gathered at the Bessemer Hall of History Museum to confront this history The coalition has also sponsored field trips to Montgomery bringing dozens of high school students to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum Photo By EJI Staff 146
AUSTIN TX ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM In 2018 the Jefferson County Memorial Project JCMP based in Birmingham Alabama launched efforts to respond to EJI s call to action for remembrance and memorialization As part of their education efforts JCMP developed a fellowship program for college students interested in researching the county s history of racial terror violence and a new curriculum on racial terror lynching for classrooms in the county In September 2019 JCMP worked with EJI to install a historical marker at Sloss Furnace In February 2020 five students were also awarded 6000 in scholarship awards through EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest JCMP has hosted numerous public education events and has developed various engagement opportunities including a volunteer program at Donaldson Correctional Facility Photos By Jefferson County Memorial Project top left Erica Wright The Birmingham Times student photos EJI Staff bottom left CENTER TEXAS On December 15 2018 community members in Center Shelby County Texas dedicated a historical marker to memorialize a 16 year old Black teenager named Lige Daniels who was lynched by a white mob in 1920 Local community members relatives of Lige Daniels and civic and civil rights leaders gathered to remember his story by participating in a soil collection and a program following the marker unveiling to discuss the legacy of racial terror in Center Five students were also awarded 5000 in scholarship awards through EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest Photos By Belinda Brewer left photo EJI Staff middle and right photo 147
CHAPEL HILL NC In November 2019 the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition hosted a community wide soil collection event in memory of a young Black man Manly McCauley who was only 18 years old when he was lynched by a white mob on October 28 1898 The day s events included a pre collection of soil with relatives of Manly McCauley and the community acts of remembrance music dramatic readings dance and reflections on how the history of racial terror impacted the community of Chapel Hill both in 1898 and beyond Photos By Donn Young CHARLOTTESVILLE VA In July 2018 about 50 Charlottesville residents journeyed near the site where 120 years earlier a white mob lynched a Black man named John Henry James in 1898 Together they held a soil collection in remembrance of Mr James s lynching After this at least 100 Charlottesville residents embarked on a pilgrimage in remembrance of Mr James and talked honestly about the legacy of racial injustice in their local community After traveling to Civil Rights cultural and historical sites between Virginia and Alabama the group concluded the journey with a special ceremony presenting the soil collected for Mr James to EJI to be included in the Legacy Museum The following year the community dedicated a historical marker documenting Mr James s lynching on the courthouse lawn Photos By Mike Krophf Charlottesville Tomorrow left Michael S Williamson The Washington Post right 148
COATESVILLE PA Members of the Coatesville Ministerial Alliance Merion Friends Meeting and the NAACP Coatesville Area Branch 2257 along with other community members in Coatesville Chester County Pennsylvania gathered in November 2017 for a soil collection ceremony in remembrance of Zachariah Walker a Black man who was lynched in a public spectacle lynching in 1911 The community collected the soil at the site of a historical marker that was installed in 2006 Photos By Chris Baker Evans DECATUR GA The NAACP DeKalb Remembrance Coalition partnered with EJI to install a historical marker to memorialize the lynchings of four Black men in DeKalb County Georgia between 1877 and 1950 On May 14 2020 the marker was installed outside the DeKalb County City Hall in downtown Decatur Although ceremony plans for the marker dedication were necessarily postponed due to COVID 19 the coalition hosted numerous public education and engagement experiences leading up to the marker s installation The coalition also partnered with EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest wherein five winners and two honorable mentions received a total of 7000 in scholarship awards and the coalition sponsored an additional essay contest for college students attending schools in DeKalb County Photos By Albert Fields left middle Schaune Griffin right 149
DENVER CO The Colorado Lynching Memorial Project emerged from coalition efforts in Denver County and Lincoln County Colorado in memory of a 15 year old African American teenager named Preston John Porter Jr who was killed by a white mob in a public spectacle lynching in Limon Colorado on November 16 1900 On November 5 2018 the coalition successfully worked with Denver City officials to have a proclamation signed and publicly read in remembrance of Preston Close to 90 community members also gathered on November 17 2018 for a soil collection event in Limon in memory of Preston The coalition s efforts have continued including installing a historical marker in Denver in November 2020 and hosting a virtual unveiling ceremony with several hundred viewers Photos By Dara Ollman left Dave Russell Buffalo Heart Images right DULUTH MN In 2003 community members in Duluth Minnesota unveiled the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial to memorialize three Black men Elias Clayton Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie who were lynched in front of thousands of people on June 15 1920 In 2017 community members worked with EJI to host a soil collection remembrance ceremony where over one hundred community members gathered at the memorial site In 2018 a delegation of Duluth residents journeyed together to attend the opening of the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice The community hoped to host a centennial ceremony in summer 2020 but had to postpone due to COVID 19 However on October 10 2020 the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial and the Duluth Chapter of the NAACP unveiled a historical marker at the site where the three men were lynched across the street from the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Photos By Tyler Schank Duluth News Tribune 15 0
FORT DEPOSIT AL In November 2019 the Lowndes County Friends of The Civil Rights Movement held a soil collection community ceremony to memorialize 8 of the 16 documented victims of racial terror lynching killed in Lowndes County Alabama Bringing together community members and relatives of the victims the coalition hosted soil collections at each lynching site On Saturday December 14 2019 the Lowndes County Community Remembrance Coalition unveiled a second historical marker in Lowndes County in honor of lynching victims dedicated to Jim Press Meriweather Ed Bracy and G Smith Watkins who were lynched in 1935 in retaliation for their efforts to unionize Black sharecroppers Descendants of each man participated in the unveiling ceremony The marker located in Fort Deposit is on the grounds of historic Hopewell Church built by enslaved Black people in 1832 and currently undergoing restoration Attendees reflected on the event post ceremony while standing inside the historic church building Photos By EJI Staff GREENVILLE SC On November 14 2019 the Community Remembrance Project of Greenville South Carolina hosted a community wide discussion in memory of George Green who was lynched on November 16 1933 by a mob of klansmen who were hired by Mr Green s landlord The landlord sought to retaliate against Mr Green after Mr Green resisted the landlord s illegal order for him to vacate his home In 2019 more than 300 people gathered to discuss the legacy of Mr Green s lynching and contemporary housing crises in Greenville County today The coalition hosted a soil collection event for Mr Green on November 7 2020 and plans to erect a historical marker in his memory Photo By Jeanette Brewster 151
HICKORY MS On Saturday August 17 2019 relatives and descendants of three Black men Dee Dawkins Frank Johnson and William Fielder joined community members in a soil collection ceremony in remembrance of their loved ones during the annual Come Home to Good Hope celebration commemorating the founding of Good Hope Freedom Settlement by formerly enslaved Black people after the Civil War Mr Fielder Mr Dawkins and Mr Johnson were lynched by a white mob on October 10 1908 simply for their association with another Black man who was accused of killing a local white man but could not be located and killed by the mob Historian and activist Joyce SalterJohnson a descendant of Frank Johnson began the project after her grandchildren found Mr Johnson s name on a monument at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice Photos By EJI Staff IRONDALE AL Based in Jefferson County Alabama the Irondale Memorial Project coalition hosted a community soil collection ceremony in November 2019 at Revelation Church Ministries in Irondale Alabama in remembrance of the December 1896 lynching of a Black man named William Wardley Following the ceremony the coalition and University of Alabama at Birmingham faculty and students partnered with the Irondale public library to host public education events including a memory box exhibit in honor of William Wardley The coalition plans to continue to host programming and installed a historical marker in memory of Mr Wardley in February 2021 Photos By UAB Bloom Studio 152
JACKSONVILLE FL In 2018 community members in Jacksonville Duval County Florida began working towards community remembrance efforts that are now part of 904ward an organization dedicated towards building inclusion in the community As part of the group s public education efforts they worked with Jacksonville s Museum of Science and History MOSH to host a local Lynching in America exhibit that included narratives of the seven documented victims in Duval County and curated a traveling exhibit that has been hosted by other cultural organizations and public libraries The coalition has been working to collect soil for the seven victims through virtual ceremonies in response to COVID 19 precautions They hope to also pursue historical markers and to advance EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest Photos By EJI Staff KANSAS CITY MO On December 1 2018 community members and civic leaders gathered in Kansas City Jackson County Missouri to unveil a historical marker to memorialize an African American man named Levi Harrington who was lynched by a white mob on April 3 1882 About 120 people attended the dedication ceremony which began with a performance of the iconic song Strange Fruit and the reading of a proclamation signed by the Mayor of Kansas City dedicating December 1 2018 as Levi Harrington Remembrance Day Four students who participated in EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest were also awarded 5000 in scholarship awards The coalition went on to develop the Community Remembrance Project of Missouri and is working towards an exhibit to host soil collected across the state in partnership with other communities Photos By Desmond McIntyre 153
LEONARDTOWN MD On November 1 2019 a community remembrance coalition in Leonardtown St Mary s County Maryland facilitated a soil collection community ceremony to commemorate the lynching of Benjamin Hance who was lynched in Leonardtown in 1887 The lynching of Benjamin Hance is to date the only documented racial terror lynching known to have happened in St Mary s County Maryland between 1877 and 1950 The coalition is currently organizing to erect a historical marker in Mr Hance s remembrance Photo By EJI Staff LETOHATCHEE AL In the spring of 2016 students in Lowndes County Alabama participated in EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest At a community soil collection event in July 2016 five students were awarded 5000 in scholarships The next day a historical marker documenting the lynchings of seven victims was unveiled at Rehobeth Missionary Church in Letohatchee Alabama Photo By Caleb Chancey MONTEVALLO AL On June 8 2020 the Montevallo Community Remembrance Coalition unveiled a historical marker recognizing the victims of a double lynching in Shelby County Alabama in 1889 Although a larger gathering was postponed due to COVID 19 the coalition held a private unveiling at the marker site and encouraged socially distanced visits thereafter In conjunction with their marker project the coalition also partnered with EJI for the Racial Justice Essay Contest in which four students were awarded 5000 in scholarship awards Photo By Emily Sparacino left and Justin Wayne Lutz right 15 4
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
OMAHA NE On September 28 2019 the Omaha Community Council for Racial Justice and Reconciliation hosted a soil collection ceremony which was attended by hundreds of community members at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha Douglas County Nebraska The ceremony commemorated the lynching of Will Brown a 40 year old Black man killed at the courthouse on September 28 1919 A mob of at least 5000 white people abducted Mr Brown from the jail and lynched him before setting both he and the courthouse on fire Local and state officials acknowledged the complicity and active role of white officials in the killing of Mr Brown as their jars were filled Photos By Taylored Media Productions first two images EJI Staff two images from the right ORLANDO FL On June 21 2019 the Truth and Justice Project of Orange County and local community groups unveiled a historical marker at the Orange County Regional History Center to commemorate the lynching of July Perry and the Ocoee Election Day Massacre Over several days in November 1920 white mobs terrorized beat and killed dozens of Black Ocoee residents for attempting to vote Countless Black people displaced from the land and homes they owned fled and never returned Almost 100 years later descendants of July Perry alongside a crowd of hundreds including elected officials joined together for the marker s dedication Five public high school students were also awarded 6000 in scholarships in EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest Photos By Willie J Allen Jr top left first middle Black Excellence Photography top second middle right bottom left 156
OXFORD MS On October 27 2018 over 500 people gathered at Second Baptist Church in Oxford Lafayette County Mississippi for a memorial service to unveil a marker acknowledging the racial terror lynching of Elwood Higginbottom in 1935 There were also more than 40 members of the Higginbottom family in attendance including Reverend E W Higginbottom Sr Rev Higginbottom was just four years old when his father was lynched and his family was forced to flee their home Following the service where five winners of EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest were announced and awarded over 5000 in scholarships and prizes the marker was installed at the site where Mr Higginbottom was lynched at the corner of North Lamar Boulevard and Molly Barr Road in Oxford Photos By Reed Jones POOLESVILLE MD On November 3 2019 hundreds of community members gathered in Poolesville Montgomery County Maryland for a community soil collection in remembrance of George Peck who was lynched there in 1880 Hosted by the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project the ceremony featured poetry readings by local high school students and the issuing of a proclamation on behalf of the Montgomery County Council Photos By EJI Staff 157
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
ST AUGUSTINE FL On October 20 2018 community members gathered at Shands Pier in St Augustine St Johns County Florida to memorialize the lynching of a Black farmer named Isaac Barrett who was lynched by a white mob on June 5 1897 During the ceremony the community also recognized the winners of EJI s Racial Justice Essay Contest in St Johns County in which over 60 public high school students submitted essays exploring the legacy of racial injustice Five students were awarded with over 5000 in scholarship awards and prizes for their entries Photos By EJI Staff Contributed to EJI TALLAHASSEE FL On February 29 2020 the Tallahassee Community Remembrance Coalition hosted a community soil collection in remembrance of four Black men who were lynched in Leon County Florida The coalition plans to exhibit the soil for Pierce Taylor 1897 Mick Morris 1909 Richard Hawkins and Ernest Ponder 1937 at the public library and local cultural sites They are also working towards a historical marker racial justice essay contest and curriculum development with the local school district Photos By Dennis Howard 159
CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
TUSCALOOSA AL In March 2017 community members in Tuscaloosa County Alabama unveiled a historical marker memorializing eight African American men lynched in the county between 1884 and 1933 Over one hundred people participated in unveiling the marker at 2803 6th Street in front of the Old Tuscaloosa Jail Following the unveiling a dedication program at the First African Baptist Church featured remarks from local community members and from a descendant of a lynching victim and performances by Tuscaloosa area choirs Photo By EJI Staff WILMINGTON DE On June 23 2019 the Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition joined by state leaders and hundreds of community members gathered in Wilmington New Castle County Delaware to unveil a historical marker at the site where a Black man named George White was tortured and burned to death by a white mob on the same day in 1903 Savannah Shepherd at the time a junior in high school began the coalition that helped inspire the historical marker s erection after she learned Mr White s story when she visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice Included in the unveiling ceremony was an opportunity for those gathered to participate in a soil collection at the site Photo By EJI Staff 161
Thank you for exploring the Equal Justice Initiative s COMMUNITY REMEMBRANCE PROJECT CATALOG A NEW COMMITMENT TRUTH AND JUSTICE Questions Email us at communityremembrance eji org TO
