2024 PGCLMP Essay and Creative Arts Contests Winners

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project is honored and excited to congratulate the ten winners of our 2024 Racial Justice Essay and Creative Arts contest. Prince George’s County high school public, private, or homeschooled students were invited to submit an essay, creative writing, or visual artwork that addressed an historical or current racial justice issue. Over 80 entries were received from seven high schools across the county.

Jaelynn Walker smiles with her artwork and award.
 Janelle Bassole challenges the audience with her essay.
Emmanuella Umoh’s impassioned presentation.

The students were celebrated at an awards program attended by their families, friends, teachers, and community members held at the Greenbelt Community Center on June 15, 2024. Students presented their inspiring essays, creative writing, and artwork to audience applause. Winners received certificates, commendations from local elected officials, and scholarships ranging from $1000 for first place to $100 for honorable mention.

Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan welcoming the audience

We thank the Greenbelt Black History & Culture Committee, Greenbelt Recreation Department, and the City of Greenbelt for sponsoring our awards ceremony and Greenbelt Access Television for recording the ceremony.

We are especially grateful for the donations from community individuals and organizations that made the scholarships possible. We commend every student who entered their justice reflections in our contest.

We share the full list of 2024 contest winners here:

Creative Writing

NameAwardTitleSchool
Shana McFadden1st Place“Oh Innocent Emmett”Suitland High School
Marli Jones2nd Place“The Pipeline” Frederick Douglass High School
Mikayla Hollis3rd Place“The School to Prison Pipeline” Eleanor Roosevelt High School

Essay

NameAwardTitleSchool
Janelle Bassole1st Place“A Practice Built Off the Back of Suffering” Laurel High School
Emmanuella Umoh2nd Place“The Power of Representation: Illuminating Paths to Racial Justice Through Media”College Park Academy
Anike Akinfolarin3rd Place“The Power of Representation: Illuminating Paths to Racial Justice Through Media”Charles Herbert Flowers High School

Visual Arts

NameAwardTitleSchool
Onyekachukwu Roland Akwara1st Place“Justice for Our People”Charles Herbert Flowers High School
Jaelynn Walker 2nd Place“Bars of Freedom”Chesapeake Math & IT Academy North High School
Tyla Inyamah3rd Place“Slave to Miseducation”Charles Herbert Flowers High School
Seanna DayeHonorable Mention“BLM Memorial”Chesapeake Math & IT Academy North High School

2025 PGCLMP Racial Justice Essay & Creative Arts Contest (ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS)

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Our 2025 racial justice essay and creative arts contest for high school students opens for submissions on 12/1/2024.

For detailed information on our 2025 Racial Justice Essay & Creative Arts Contest, including how to upload submissions, visit: https://pgclmp.org/racial-justice-contest/.

This contest is for Prince George’s County public, private, and homeschool students, grades 9-12.

If you have questions or suggestions, or need additional information about the contest, please contact Lula at lulabeatty@verizon.net.

History Made: Soil Collection to Remember Thomas Juricks

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Thank you to everyone who made our Soil Collection a huge success.

We are still celebrating the packed house (200 seats); the talented chorus, soloist, dancer, and poet from local high schools; evocative adult poet and soloist; our moving speakers; the support of the staffs of Prince George’s County Parks’ Black History Program and Harmony Hall; and the reverent participation by so many in the soil collection ceremony to honor Mr. Juricks, led by Chapel Hill residents and students who built the Memorial Carts and dug up the soil in nearby Chapel Hill. Mr. Thomas Juricks will never again be forgotten!

We wanted to share with everyone links to the digital version of the beautiful and history-packed Printed Program for the event and to our media coverage:

Digital copy of the Printed Program:  Printed Program_FINAL from BHP+ltr w bleed 2P.pdf 


Washington Post:  front page of the Metro Section on Sunday
https://wapo.st/3MSfeWQ
The Intersection Magazine:  Fort Washington Community Held A Homegoing Service For Thomas Juricks, a Black Man Lynched in 1869 — The Intersection Magazine
WJLA: Thursday evening news Prince George’s to honor Thomas Juricks, victim of county’s oldest documented lynching | WJLA
CTV News: Wednesday evening news
 CTV News 4/12/23 at the 8:10 mark

Join Us: Prince George’s County Public Hearing on Lynching – January 25, 2025 (REGISTER TODAY)

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The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s public hearing for Prince George’s County will be held in partnership with the Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project on Saturday, January 25th from 10am to 2pm at Bowie State University, and virtually. The stories of the four Black men who were victims of documented racial terror lynchings in PGC will be told, descendant testimonies will be heard, and expert witnesses on the impacts and will speak. An opportunity for Public Comment will be provided. Pre-registration is encouraged: Link to RSVP

The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2019 by House Bill 307 and amended by House Bill 297 in 2021 and Senate Bill 478 in 2023. The MLTRC is authorized to research cases of racially motivated lynchings and hold public meetings and regional hearings where a lynching of an African American by a white mob has been documented. Home – Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Join Us: PGCLMP Winter 2024 Book Discussion: February 27, 2024

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“PGCLMP Book Discussion: Don’t Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre In Her Own Words“

Join the Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project (PGCLMP) for a discussion on Don’t Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre In Her Own Words by Viola Ford Fletcher and Ike Howard. Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest survivor and last living witness of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, shares the journey and lasting impact of the Tulsa Massacre on her life.

In addition to the book chat, educator and author, Karen Gross, will join us for a special discussion on trauma. 

The book is available in many media, at local libraries, independent, online and in person bookstores. If you plan to buy it, consider Black-owned/progressive independent bookstores in the area (e.g., Loyalty Books, Mahogany Books, My Dead Aunt’s Books, Politics and Prose, Sankofa, and Solid State).

Date: Tuesday, February 27th at 7pm

Link to register: https://bit.ly/2024PGCLMPBook

2023 Racial Justice Essay and Creative Arts Contest Winners

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project is honored and excited to congratulate the winners of our 2023 Racial Justice Essay and Creative Arts contest. Each of our nine award winners is a Prince George’s County high school public, private, or homeschooled student.

Winners Jessica Kennerly, A’nya Vest, Ismael Mercado Cruz, Tami Ademumo, Amber Ware, Dorothy Quanteh, Bria Pruden and Carissa Nwabueze pose with Greenbelt Mayor Emmet Jordan at the awards ceremony.

The students were celebrated at an awards program attended by their families, friends, teachers, and community members held at the Greenbelt Community Center on June 17, 2023. Students presented their essays, creative writing, and artwork to audience applause. We thank the Greenbelt Black History & Culture Committee, Greenbelt Recreation Department, and the City of Greenbelt for sponsoring our awards ceremony and Greenbelt Access Television for recording the ceremony.

Student winners received certificates and scholarship money for their future educational pursuits. In addition, winners were invited to attend the Hurston/Wright Foundation Summer Writer’s Workshop at Howard University. We are grateful for the donations from community individuals and organizations that made the scholarships possible. We commend all students who entered their justice reflections in our contest.

To watch a recording of the full awards ceremony, click here: https://youtu.be/vLOChpcgv0A

PGCLMP Co-Secretary Lula Beatty calls the names of the four documented lynching victims.
Bria Pruden, a student from Suitland High School, and the 3rd place visual arts contest entry.
First place essay contest winner Tami Ademumo of Frederick Douglass High School
Audience members listen to Sherri Arnold

A full list of this year’s winners can be found below.

Essay and Creative Writing Winners
Tami Ademumo1st PlaceFrederick Douglass High School
Dorothy Quanteh2nd PlaceCharles Herbert Flowers High School
Jessica Kennerly3rd PlaceSuitland High School
Amber WareHonorable MentionCharles Herbert Flowers High School
Emani Rose-LouisHonorable MentionFrederick Douglass High School
Visual Arts Winners
Carissa Nwabueze1st PlaceEleanor Roosevelt High School
Ismael Mercado Cruz2nd PlaceFrederick Douglass High School
Bria Pruden3rd PlaceSuitland High School
A’nya VestHonorable MentionFrederick Douglass High School

Thomas Juricks’s Remembrance Ceremony

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Did you miss our community remembrance ceremony for Thomas Juricks? Did you attend and want to relive the reverent, special time? Are you looking to see how a similar event for your own community might be structured?

We thank our partners at the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project (and its founder and director Will Schwartz) for capturing the ceremony in full. Watch below.

Thomas Juricks Community Remembrance

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On March 11, 2023, members of the Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project, the Chapel Hill Citizen Association, and youth volunteers and their mentors from Union Bethel Church gathered at the lot adjoining Grace United Methodist Church in Fort Washington to collect soil in remembrance of the life and tragic death of Thomas Juricks, at the approximate site of his death. On October 12, 1869, Juricks became the victim of a racial terror lynching in Piscataway; he is the earliest known victim in Prince George’s County.

On April 15, 2023, over 200 county residents, PGCLMP volunteers, political leaders, and others gathered at Harmony Hall Regional Center to tell the truth of this historic tragedy, memorialize Mr. Juricks and give him the home-going he has always deserved, and dream together of how we can advance toward a future where the lingering affects of racial terror lynchings give way to true progress and equality for all.

Please enjoy this video compilation of some images from this meaningful event, created by PGCLMP member and co-secretary Katie Pugliese.

Join Us: April 15, 2023 – PGCLMP’s Community Remembrance for Mr. Thomas Juricks at Harmony Hall Regional Center

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project’s first Community Remembrance event which will honor Mr. Thomas Juricks, the first known victim of a racial terror lynching in Prince George’s County. We hope to see you there! The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged but not required:  https://bit.ly/TJuricks2023.

The event will be held on Saturday, April 15th, 2023 at the Harmony Hall Arts Center in Fort Washington.

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Local History Remembered: 

Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project (PGC LMP)

to Honor County’s Earliest Known Lynching Victim

Event: Community Remembrance for Mr. Thomas Juricks

Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Location:   Harmony Hall Arts Center in the Harmony Hall Regional Center, 10701 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, MD

The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project (PGC LMP), a local grassroots organization, will hold a community remembrance to honor Mr.Thomas Juricks, whose 1869 lynching is the first documented in Prince George’s County.  The community remembrance is co-sponsored by the M-NCPPC Black History Program.  The event is free and open to the public.  Registration is encouraged but not required:  https://bit.ly/TJuricks2023.

This moving program will tell the story of Mr. Thomas Juricks, a Black laborer and farmhand who lived with his family in the Piscataway area near Fort Washington and was extrajudicially murdered by a masked mob of White men on October 12, 1869. The historical aspects of his life and tragic lynching will be paired with a long overdue send-off for Mr. Juricks that will acknowledge and honor him through a libation ceremony, soil collection, music, poetry and dance. Students of several local schools will be performing.  Opportunities will be provided to the entire community to reflect and acknowledge that his life mattered and understand how this violent history reverberates into present-day issues such as white supremacy, mass incarceration and educational disparities between races.

“It has been our honor to collaborate with the Chapel Hill community of Fort Washington  in researching the history of the lynching that took place there and in presenting what we hope will meaningfully honor the life taken and commit us all to the cause of racial justice in Prince George’s County,” stated the PGC LMP Co-Chairs Crystal Carpenter, Rev. Diane Teichert, and Krystina Tucker.     

PGC LMP is a registered non-profit, all-volunteer organization affiliated with Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project (MDLMP). Its mission is to educate the public on the truths of our nation’s continuing legacy of the institution of slavery and its impact on enslaved persons and their descendants, memorialize victims of racial terror lynchings in our county, and advance the cause of racial justice and reconciliation through mutual support and collaboration.

For more information about the event, email us at princegeorgescolmp@gmail.com.

2023 Winter Book Discussion: The Color of Law

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project is holding a two-part discussion of the book, “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” by Richard Rothstein on Tuesday, February 7 and Tuesday, February 21, from 7:00-8:30 pm.  

Come join us for an invigorating discussion with special guests joining to provide commentary and perspectives on how lessons from this book are evident in Prince George’s County.

Preregistration is required:  Meeting Registration – Zoom.   

Please share this invitation with people in your network and disseminate the flyer to as many platforms as possible.