Nathan Hill

Next General Meeting: 5/15/2021, 2 PM

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The next meeting of the Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project is Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.   

There will be a special presentation by Elinor Thompson on The Importance of Preserving Church and Cemetery Records for Historical Research.  

The zoom link and agenda are below.

April minutes are attached for your information and review.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Topic: PGC LMP May 2021 General Meeting
Time: May 15, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 932 4677 7560
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General Meeting Agenda

Saturday, May 15th, 2021
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

1.    Call to Order – Krystina Tucker, Co-Chair

2.    Welcome and Review Meeting Process via Zoom  Krystina

3.    Calling of Names – 

Thomas Juricks, 1869, Piscataway; John Henry Scott, 1875, Oxon Hill; Michael Green, 1878, Upper Marlboro; Stephen Williams, 1894, Upper Marlboro.  

4.            Review of Minutes –  Crystal Carpenter, Co-Chair

5.            Maryland Lynching Memorial Project Liaison Update – Lula Beatty (5 minutes) 

6.            State of Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission Liaison Update – Omar Eaton-Martinez

7.            Introductions of any Newcomers and Guests  

8.            Special Presentation –  “The Importance of Preserving Church and Cemetery Records for Historical Research” by Elinor Thompson – Maryland Commissioner on African American History and Culture (Anne Arundel County), Genealogist, Historian, Author, and Cemetery Preservationist

9.            Committee Breakout Rooms (30 minutes) 

10.         Committee Reports      Krystina (20 minutes) 

a.            Community Remembrance Projects  (formerly Soil Collection) – Anita Brown, Jade Eaton

b.            Education – Crystal Carpenter, Liz Muller

c.            Outreach – Rev. Nathan HIll, Rev. Aaron Tinch

d.            History/Genealogy – Krystina Tucker, Jody Wildy

11.          Follow-up Discussion on Reports  (as needed)

12.          Announcements/Questions (5 minutes) 

13.          Closing     

Next General Meeting: Saturday, June 19th, 2-4 pm

Minutes_General_2021-0417Download

MCAAHC / MLTRC Joint Statement on Racial Injustice & Social Equity

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Please see the following statement on Racial Injustice & Social Equity from our partners at Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

A major lesson from history is that those who do not learn from the past are destined to repeat it. Financial and political power built upon systems driven by racial oppression does not make a sound foundation on which to forge and advance a humane, sustainable future for the United States, and the majority of people in this country are voicing that statement. Maryland, like the United States, has a profound and tortured relationship with systemic racism, and as a result, this state has been an epicenter for protests and calls for Black liberation: from the abolitionist movement to innovations in the arts, education, and civil rights legislation. The legacy continued in 1969 with the MCAAHC, and in 2019 with the MLTRC.

You can download the full statement here:

MCAAHC-MLTRC-Joint-StatementDownload

Article: Why does the Myth of the Confederate Lost Cause Persist?

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Part of our work as the PGCLMP is to name the truth.

This article from author Clint R. Smith III, an excerpt from his recent book, is featured in the upcoming issue of The Atlantic as part of their Inheritance series. He gives an overview of the Lost Cause myth that persists in the minds of many Americans and the ways the truth about slavery, Confederate monuments, and the Civil War are obscured.

Gramling then turned his attention to the present-day controversy about Confederate monuments—to the people who are “trying to take away our symbols.” In 2019, according to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were nearly 2,000 Confederate monuments, place names, and other symbols in public spaces across the country. A follow-up report after last summer’s racial-justice protests found that more than 160 of those symbols had been removed or renamed in 2020.

Gramling said that this was the work of “the American ISIS.” He looked delighted as the crowd murmured its affirmation. “They are nothing better than ISIS in the Middle East. They are trying to destroy history they don’t like.”

Read the rest of the piece here.

Calling All Volunteers

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On Saturday, March 27 from 11 AM – 3 PM, there is an opportunity for volunteers to explore history and give back at a clean up day for the Tanyard/Franklin Cemetery. Please see the attached flyer for the items to bring and what to expect from this opportunity which will include history about the cemetery. Refreshments will also be provided.

See the flyer below for more details:

Time-to-give-back.-6Download

Action Alert: Pass the Emmett Till Antilynching Act

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“Our country’s national crime is lynching.”

Ida B. Wells
On January 6, 2021, a mob of insurrectionists opposing the presidential election results erected nooses on our Capitol grounds and stormed the Capitol, leaving this symbol of terror and threat. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

After more than 100 years of unsuccessful legislative efforts to make lynching a federal offense, it’s time for justice for the victims of lynching and their communities. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act awaits approval. Your help is needed to push it through.

• Over 6400 people were lynched between 1865 and 1968, and most were African Americans. These numbers represent the documented cases; many others went unrecorded.

• Lynching (murder) is a crime that occurred in every state except four.

• Ninety-nine percent of all lynching perpetrators escaped punishment by state or local officials.

The Emmett Till Antilynching Act will make lynching a federal hate crime, allowing federal intervention and guidelines in charging, prosecuting, and sentencing perpetrators of lynching.

The bill was reintroduced by the House on January 4, 2021.

Why Support This Bill. No matter how old the crime, victims of lynching and their families deserve justice. Moreover, lynching continues and remains a threat as seen by the events of January 6, 2021.

What You Can Do. Contact your senators and representatives to urge them to vote for H.R. 55 – Emmett Till Antilynching Act. See the list of MD representatives with their contact information in the attached PDF file.

Anti-Lynching Action AlertDownload

Remembering William Burns

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Sidney Thomas writes a powerful and beautiful piece for Black History month by remembering the name and story of William Burns, the only black man lynched in Allegancy County in western Maryland. The article offers us a glimpse of a soil collection ceremony, a project we are working to do in the Piscataway, Maryland area. Please read as we share stories throughout this month:

The soil was collected by Ms. Fisher and other local volunteers at the Allegany County courthouse site on Washington Street where Williams Burns, an African-American man, was brutally lynched on October 6, 1907 by an all white mob – some of whom were members of the Ku Klux Klan. The soil was collected as part of the Equal Justice Initiative Community Remembrance Project – in association with the Allegany County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Committee. EJI is a nationwide organization working to confront prejudice and heal our nation’s history of racial injustice.

Read more here…

Visit to Piscataway

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CW: Brief description of a historical lynching

The 1869 lynching of Thomas Juricks became more tangible for members of the PG County Lynching Memorial Project during a January tour of four Piscataway sites connected to this horrific chapter of the county’s history.

A mob wearing handkerchiefs with eyeholes cut out lynched Juricks, who was awaiting trial after being accused on flimsy evidence of raping a white woman. He worked on a farm in Piscataway and lived nearby with his family.

During the tour led by PGCLMP member Blair Bowie, we learned more about what is believed to be the county’s first lynching, identified possible locations for a soil collection community remembrance project, considered ways to involve the local communities (Clinton and Fort Washington) and discussed areas for further research.

The tour included:

  • Old Piscataway Town, the closest town to Juricks’ home (Clinton)
  • Likely site of Thomas Juricks’ home, site roughly marked in 1878 (Fort Washington)
  • Hatton’s Hill, location of a Black schoolhouse and area where Juricks is reported to be buried (Fort Washington)
  • Chapel Hill, a thriving post Civil War African American farming community that established a Freedman’s Bureau school and meeting house. (Fort Washington)

Members of the PGCLMP were joined by representatives of The Accokeek Foundation and other interested county residents.

Photos by Karen Scrivo and Aaron Tinch

What We Accomplished in 2020

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2020 was a year no one saw coming. Everyone has had their own struggles as well as joys, but the end of the year is also a time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished together!

  • We set up an organizational and leadership structure with committees and clear goals.
  • We created a mission statement and a logo.
  • We held a successful common read of “On the Courthouse Lawn” by Sherrilyn Ifill to learn more about history and the modern ripple effects of lynchings and to reach out into the community.
  • We participated in and promoted a socially distant candlelight vigil for George Floyd.
  • We began planning for our first soil collection ceremony.
  • We utilized technology to create resource lists, maps and other tools to help in our work and generally deepened our research into the history of lynchings in our county.
  • We set up a website and social media presence.
  • We promoted and took part in the 3rd annual Lynching in Maryland Conference, as well as spreading the word about other Maryland Lynching Memorial Project events.
  • We met new people who share common goals of making our communities better.

If you have anything to add to our list of accomplishments, post them in the comments below. Here’s to a new year and the new things to come for PGCLMP in 2021.