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.
We’ve posted a new video on our Videos & Resources page to talk about the why – why we look back at history to explain and understand what is happening now. Why the story of Thomas Juricks? What can we learn from history? What can we gain by addressing these horrific events in the present?
Across Maryland, neighbors and stakeholders are stepping forward to honor the memories of victims of racial terror lynching in our communities. Montgomery County recently held a procession and soil collection ceremony which gives us ideas for our direction as our work continues. Please watch.
Eighth graders at Loch Raven Technical Center produced a powerful film about the Untold Story of Maryland lynchings.