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.

 

“Echoes of the Enslaved” Event

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The Prince George’s County division of M-NCPPC is hosting its annual “Echoes of the Enslaved” event September 16 and 17, 2022. This year’s event will focus on the lasting legacies of chattel slavery in Prince George’s County with Riversdale House Museum highlighting their work with descendants of those who were enslaved.

On September 16, three descendants will participate in a panel discussion at 6 p.m., followed by an opportunity for attendees to break into small discussion groups to talk about the legacies of slavery and their impact on the modern world. The second portion begins at 8 p.m. This event is free but registration is limited to 50 people. Click this link to register, and see the accompanying flyer for more information.

On September 17 from noon – 4 p.m., there will be a celebration of resilience, health and wellness on the grounds of Riversdale House Museum. The festival-like event will include musical performances, cooking demonstrations, history talks, an archaeological dig, genealogy opportunities, family wellness activities and more. This event is FREE, with no pre-registration required.

Echoes22_FINAL_updateDownload

Special General Meeting

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project will hold a special general meeting this Saturday, August 20, at 2 p.m.

Most of this meeting will be focused on planning for the soil collection ceremony to honor Mr. Thomas Juricks. We need many hands to make light work, so even if you are not on that committee, or not on any committee, please attend if you are able so you can consider ways you might be able to help. We have opportunities for folks with all types of skills and varying levels of time commitments. Something as simple as sending one email to one contact could help tremendously.

We hope to see everyone there! As always, newcomers are warmly welcomed.

PGC LMP 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 winners of our racial justice essay contest and our racial justice creative arts contest. Each of our winners is a student at a high school in Prince George’s County.

Students who won the essay and creative arts contest pose with award plaques and certificates around a posterboard for PGC LMP
Chelsea Nelson, from left, Chase Matthews, Kai Lampley, Anise Lampley, Miso Abitria, Aleila Rankin, and Diana Osuji (on behalf of Stephanie Osuji) accepted their awards from Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan (back center).

Members of our coalition celebrated the winners and their families at two county Juneteeth events: a display table at the county Parks and Recreation Department festival and an awards ceremony held at the Greenbelt Community Center. It was great for us to gather in person after a long pandemic season of meeting virtually, and it was even better to hear from the talented students who took part in our contests.

Diana Osuji shares a moment of joy with Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan, left, and PGC LMP member Dr. Lois Rosado.
Miso Abitria, a student at Charles Herbert Flowers High School, reads from her 3rd place essay.
PGC LMP member Pat Neal talks with attendees at the award ceremony as she staffs the information booth.
People sit in two rows of chairs watching a woman in front of a projector making a presentation.
PGC LMP Co-Secretary Lula Beatty gives remarks at the awards ceremony.
More photos are available on our Facebook page!

Thanks go to the city of Greenbelt for providing space for us to host our awards ceremony and to Greenbelt Access Television (GATe) for broadcasting and recording the ceremony; to our sponsor of the essay contest, the Equal Justice Initiative; and to the co-sponsors of our creative arts contest, the Prince George’s County NAACP chapter and Joe’s Movement Emporium; and to our guest judges from the community who selected our winners.

Thank you as well to each of the students who entered these contests. Congratulations to the following students who were selected as winners. They received an award plaque or certificate as well as scholarship money for their future educational pursuits.

Essay Contest Winners

NameAwardSchool
Stephanie Osuji1st PlaceEleanor Roosevelt High School
Alyssa Liverman2nd PlaceDr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School
Miso Abitria3rd PlaceCharles Herbert Flowers High School
Aleila Rankin3rd PlaceOxon Hill High School
Ji’Mie WomackHonorable MentionCharles Herbert Flowers High School
Blessing NwokeHonorable MentionEleanor Roosevelt High School

Creative Arts Contest Winners

Name/Title of SubmissionAward/CategorySchool
Anise Lampley “Perennial Prejudice”1st place: Creative WritingOxon Hill High School
Chase Matthews “Hoodie”2nd place:  Creative WritingHome-schooled
Kai Lampley “The Tree of Cain”3rd place: Creative WritingOxon Hill High School
Chisom Amaikwu “When Race Clashes with Police”Honorable Mention:  Creative WritingAcademy of Health Sciences: Prince George’s County Community College
Nadia McCall “Gentrified”1st place: Visual ArtsCharles Herbert Flowers High School
Richard Martin “Lynching”2nd place: Visual ArtsLaurel High School
Seanna Harper “Her Life Mattered”3rd place:  Visual ArtsChesapeake Math and IT (CMIT) North
Momdjo Ashuakpa Windioscars Mbi “Environmental Racism”Honorable Mention: Visual ArtsCentral High School  
David Ingram “Justice”1st place: Spoken WordCharles Herbert Flowers High School
Chelsea Nelson “Black Baby’s First Misrepresentation”2nd place: Spoken WordCentral High School

PGCLMP at Juneteenth Celebrations

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project is pleased to be participating in several of the local Juneteenth events this year!

We are providing an information booth at the Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation Department Juneteenth Festival at Watkins Regional Park on Saturday, June 18, from noon to 5 p.m. Come meet coalition members, learn about the history and continuing legacy of racial terror lynchings and the institution of slavery in our county, and see some of the winning artwork from our student creative arts contest. We will also be giving away prizes on the hour to folks who can answer questions about our work and the lynching victims, so be sure to read our informational materials and this website for a chance to win. For details about the event, visit this link.

Then, join members of our Education Committee at the Greenbelt Community Center gymnasium from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on June 18 for an awards ceremony honoring the winners of the arts contest and the racial justice essay contest. Hear some of the essayists read from their work and join us in celebrating the talented young people in our county. See the flyer below for more information.

Fact Sheets Now Available

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We have made available some Fact Sheets about Thomas Juricks, Racial Terror Lynching, and the PGCLMP on our Videos and Resources page.

Fact Sheets

  1. Fact Sheet on Thomas Juricks:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iImB0_HusDveNMPe_gRWTdeQL3YKVXtS/view?usp=sharing
  2. Fact Sheet – What is a Racial Terror Lynching?: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yECCupVUnreW3Yh4Neand39egnhS1VYo/view?usp=sharing
  3. Fact Sheet – What is the PGCLMP?: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gFDjaSXE_UBvR2ch6vTUYVfRSOjR0qIt/view?usp=sharing

The Untold Story of the 1869 Lynching of Mr. Thomas Juricks in Piscataway

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In this exclusive video, we invite you to understand history that is often not told – the story of a lynching in one of our Prince George’s County communities. Watch this presentation shared at a local library.

It also explains the necessity to tell this buried story from our past while learning about the PGCLMP and how you can get involved in their work around truth, reconciliation, and healing.