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
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.
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.
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:
The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project’sfirst 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
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.
Were you aware that a Black man was lynched in Piscataway in 1869? Likely not, as with other racial terror lynchings, these incidents were not shared historically. This presentation tells Mr. Juricks’ tragic story, one of four documented racial terror lynchings that occurred in Prince George’s County, Maryland. 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.
Please be advised that the status, location, or format of this event may change based on COVID-19 pandemic conditions. Please visit this page prior to traveling to the branch/venue for the program.
Face masks and physical distancing are required for all participants over the age of 2.
Please register via the link on this page or by calling (240) 455-5451 to show interest and to receive event updates.
Registration does not guarantee admission.
Participation is permitted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Capacity limits may apply.
Tenga en cuenta que el estado, ubicación, o formato de este evento puede cambiar dependiendo de las condiciones de la pandemia COVID-19. Por favor, visite esta página antes de ir a la sucursal/lugar para el programa.
Máscaras y distancia social se requieren para todos los participantes mayores de dos años.
Por favor regístrese por medio del enlace en esta página o llame al (240) 455-5451 para demostrar su interés y recibir las últimas noticias.
The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project invites you to hear the truth of our history in a special event on November 13, 2021 at the Accokeek Branch Library in Accokeek, MD as we share the untold story of the lynching of Thomas Juricks in Piscataway in 1869.
This event is free and open to the public and begins at 3 PM on Saturday, November 13, 2021.
During this pandemic, safety and health protocols are in effect. Please wear a mask.
The Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project will be hosting a tour of Piscataway sites associated with the 1869 lynching of Thomas Juricks, on Sunday, August 8, 2021, beginning at 3 p.m.
The tour has been developed by our Community Remembrance Project Committee, with one of our volunteer members using historical records and maps to identify sites associated with Mr. Juricks’s life as well as the horrific events of that day. The tour will be conducted via carpool, with vehicles traveling to the various sites and attendees gathering on roadsides to hear and discuss the history.
The tour is FREE and open to the public. We would especially love to have some of our neighbors in Piscataway and surrounding communities join us, share their stories, learn about our work, and connect with us.
We will meet at the Fort Washington Forest Community Center and leave promptly at 3 p.m., so arrive around 2:45 if possible. The tour will go until 4:30 p.m. and be followed by an optional social gathering.
We are also planning a community remembrance project for Mr. Juricks and welcome community members to be involved in all stages of that process. Contact us for more information, to give suggestions or to ask questions.
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.
