Prince George’s County

Public Hearing on Racial Terror Lynchings in Prince George’s County

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This article was written by Rev. Diane Teichert, PGC LMP liaison to the MLTRC

The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) held its legislatively-mandated Public Hearing for Prince George’s County on Saturday, January 25th, 2025 at Bowie State University in conjunction with the Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project. 

PGC LMP requested ”Lift Every Voice and Sing” to open the event and suggested many of the speakers; provided the narratives for the four racial terror lynchings and recruited the college students who read them. PGC LMP also invited community leaders to testify during the public comment period, and publicized the event widely throughout the county. The attendance and energy were high!

The event was comprehensive, educational, and powerfully moving.  To experience it for yourself, fast forward to the start of the event at 20 minutes: MLTRC Public Hearing for Prince George’s County 

PGC LMP thanks MLTRC leaders, members and staff and the participants (listed here in order of their appearance): 

Songleader Alphonse Blakeney-Lewis 

Bowie State University President Dr. Aminta H. Breaux

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown

Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk (Maryland District 21)

Artura Jackson, Public Historian

Isabella Carrero-Baptista, reader of “The Lynching Story of Mr. Thomas Juricks”

Naira Wiley, reader of “The Lynching Story of Mr. John Henry Scott”

Isis Bendele-Asante, reader of “The Lynching Story of Mr. Michael Green” 

Akua Bendele-Asante, reader of “The Lynching Story of Mr. Stephen Williams”

Crystal Queen, descendant of Mr. Stephen Williams

Blair Bowie, descendant of an enslaving family in PGC

Dora Proctor, speaking for the Chapel Hill Community via video clip

Dr. Lula Beatty, witness on historical trauma

Rev. Tony Love, witness on the importance of Black Churches then and now
Dr. Katina Gomez, Deputy Chief, Prince George’s County Police Department
Crystal Carpenter, PGC LMP Co-chair

And to the many who offered Public Comments in-person and on-line!

In addition, special thanks to “behind the scenes” PGC LMP members Patricia McCartney who recruited the student readers; Rev. Karen Scrivo who wrote the four narratives they read; and Isaac Prentice, Melodye Robinson, Carolyn Rowe, Janet Simpson, and Diane Thompkins, members of the African American History and Genealogy Society-PGC Chapter, who conducted research on which the narratives were based. And to the PGC LMP Public Hearing Team  

Note: the MLTRC continues to collect Descendant Testimonies and Public Comments at:  https://feedback.msa.maryland.gov/lynching-truth-reconciliation/pages/contact.aspx

The PGC LMP Public Hearing Team: Lula Beatty, Crystal Carpenter, Emily DeMarco, Sharon Kniss, Pat McCartney, Pat Neal, Katie Pugliese, Karen Lee Scrivo, Diane Teichert PGC LMP liaison to the MLTRC, and Krystina Tucker.

Photos MLTRC Public Hearing for Prince George’s County by Don Milton 

Fourth Annual Student Racial Justice Essay and Creative Arts Contest

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The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project is pleased to share and congratulate the winners of our 2025 Student Racial Justice Essay and Creative Arts Contest. We invited all Prince George’s County high school public, private, or homeschooled students to submit an essay, creative writing, or visual artwork that addressed an historical or current racial justice issue to an online portal. A panel of expert judges selected 10 winners from over 50 submissions representing 12 high schools across the county.

The students were celebrated at an awards program held at the Greenbelt Community Center on May 3, 2025. Students presented their inspirational and moving essays, creative writing, and artwork to an enthusiastic audience of families, friends, teachers, and community members. Winners received certificates and scholarships ranging from $1000 for first place to $200 for third place. In addition, local elected officials including State Senator Alonzo T. Washington, State Delegate Ashanti F. Martinez, and Prince George’s County Council Member At-Large Jolene Ivey attended and presented citations of recognition to each student.

We thank the Greenbelt Black History & Culture Committee, Greenbelt Recreation Department, and the City of Greenbelt for continuing to co-sponsor our awards ceremony and the Greenbelt Access Television team for recording the ceremony.

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

We look forward to the 2026 contest and welcome anyone who would like to join us in this work.

The 2025 contest winners are:

NameAwardTitleSchool
Essay   
Ginelys Tavarez Ramirez1st Place“From Chains to Denial: The Hidden Cost of Colonialism in the Dominican Republic”Chesapeake Math and IT Academy North High School
Zyon Lawson2nd Place“The Unfinished Fight Against Lynching”Oxon Hill High School
Caroline Gyan3rd Place“Veil of Injustice: The Erasure”Frederick Douglass High School
Devin Bond3rd Place“The Struggle to Desegregate Prince George’s County Public Schools: A Legacy of Resistance and Resilience”Frederick Douglass High School
Creative Writing   
Cheyenne M. Godfrey1st Place“Fields of Greed”Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Kaliyah Fletcher2nd Place“The Strength in Our Stride”Frederick Douglass High School
Ava Raines3rd Place“Parties Unknown”Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Visual Arts   
Angel Adesoji  1st Place“The Intercepting Fingers”Chesapeake Math and IT Academy North High School
Angelina Akumkperik2nd Place“Latasha Harlins”Charles Herbert Flowers High School
Riley-Alicia Burton3rd Place“Never Forgotten”Charles Herbert Flowers High School

Special thanks to the PGC LMP Education Committee members: Crystal Carpenter and Pat Neal Co-Chairs, Lula Beatty, Mark Collins, Mary Craft, Mark Docken, Terry Hamlin, Neil Hartigan, Pat McCartney, Sherri Mehta.