The Lynching Sites Project of Memphis (LSP), in partnership with the National Park Service, is pleased to announce a new Marker Unveiling and Dedication ceremony in Memphis, followed by a Courageous Conversation.
The ceremony dedicating the markers will take place on Saturday, October 19, at 10:00 am, Wednesday, October 19, at Collins CME Chapel Church, 678 Washington Street, Memphis.
LSP is remembering two lynching victims, 1851 (victim name unknown) and Wash Henley, a U.S. Colored Troop lynched in 1869. This will be LSP’s third lynching marker dedication and the fourth marker to be installed of the 36 known victims of lynching in Shelby County.
An interfaith service of lament and celebration will be held. During the ceremony the public will have an opportunity to participate in placing soil from the two lynching sites into jars for inclusion with a collection of jars from lynching sites throughout the United States. This collection is part of the Community Remembrance Project at the Legacy Museum founded by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.
Immediately following the ceremony there will be a Courageous Conversation, open to the public. Conversation participants will consider racial “conciliation efforts” in Memphis and Shelby County. Light refreshments will be served.
The lynching Sites Project of Memphis is honored to host this event at historic Collins Chapel. We hope these historical markers will ultimately become sites of remembrance, healing, and conciliation, moving Memphis towards becoming the “Beloved Community”.
We invite the Memphis/Shelby County Community to join us in this reflective moment and conversation about our shared history and future.
About The Lynching Sites Project of Memphis (www.lynchingsitesmem.org):
Vision: To create a new legacy of racial equality and justice by shining the light of truth on lynchings in Shelby County, Tennessee.
Mission: The Lynching Sites Project of Memphis collaborates with others to cultivate courageous conversations and programs that uncover the whole truth of racial terror and violence and change the narrative in Shelby County, leading to understanding, compassion, and healing, while working toward racial equality and justice.
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