"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."
–Ida B. Wells
We are pleased and excited to share with you the news that John Ashworth will begin work on January 1 for the Lynching Sites Project of Memphis as Project Manager for the May 21, 2017 centennial commemoration of the lynching of Ell Persons. John’s contract will extend through June 2017.
A early leader in the civil rights movement in Florida and the first NAACP official killed in the struggle for civil rights died on Dec. 25, 1951, when a bomb exploded under the floorboards of his bedroom. The murder, done by members of the Ku Klux Klan in retaliation for calls for action against a Southern white sheriff, was never officially solved.
Auslander believes this bag is a national treasure. He says we often think of slavery in the terms of suffering but, “we have to remember the narratives of resilience, of courage and of family continuity. You can't imagine a family being more terribly torn apart than by then by a slave auction of a 9-year-old little girl, but this family story continued.”
“The story of the Negro in America is the story of America,” Jackson says, employing the eloquent words of Baldwin. “It’s not a pretty story.” But it is a troubling and complex one we all must know and do a better job of understanding. Like the brand-new National Museum for African American History and Culture here in Washington, the Memorial to Peace and Justice in Alabama will make that task a little easier.
Bryan Stevenson was interviewed for 5 minutes or more on PBS Newshour last night:
Dear Friends, our life stories are important. History matters. Many would say memory is sacred and that real human community is not possible without it. We belong to one another as human beings through the common stories of our families, our nation and our local community.
Especially as we plan toward events from February through June 2017 we have many needs for volunteers in addition to the faithful force which is already at work. We need people who care about our mission in such areas as overall planning and coordination, writing, social media, publicity, research, supporting local high school students, engaging artists and musicians in the Project, engaging area religious leaders in the work, and fund-raising.
We recommend America's Original Sin by Jim Wallis and its study guide as important resources, especially for group study and discussion groups. Jim Wallis has been respected as a religious leader across the nation since the 1960s. He identifies as a white evangelical Christian but he has won the respect of Roman Catholics and Liberal Protestants as well as leaders from the Islamic and Jewish communities. Published in 2016 the book includes updated reflections on events in Ferguson, Missouri and Charleston, South Carolina.
The time when African-Americans were publicly hanged, burned and dismembered for insisting on their rights or for merely talking back to whites is nearer in history than many Americans understand.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a fearless anti-lynching crusader, suffragist, women's rights advocate, journalist, and speaker. She stands as one of our nation's most uncompromising leaders and most ardent defenders of democracy.
The Lynching Sites Project of Memphis interviews 95-year old Charlie Morris whose brother, Jesse Lee Bond was lynched in Arlington, Tennessee in 1939.
ABBEVILLE -- As chants of “we are here” rose from the front lawn of the Abbeville Opera House on Saturday morning, the tragic end to a prominent black man’s life was recast by civil rights leaders as a lesson in the power of conscience.
The susceptibility of black ex-soldiers to extrajudicial murder and assault has long been recognized by historians, but the topic has never received such comprehensive standalone treatment. In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, it seems eerily relevant.
"Two southern natives, Edward Ball and Karen Branan, discovered dark truths about their ancestors that became the substance of powerful books."
The end of the Civil War marked a new era of racial terror and violence directed at black people in the United States that has not been adequately acknowledged or addressed in this country. Following emancipation in 1865, thousands of freed black men, women, and children were killed by white mobs, former slave owners, and members of the Confederacy who were unwilling to accept the anticipated end of slavery and racial subordination.
Nearly six decades ago they were evicted from their homes for merely trying to register to vote. Now they are in danger of being evicted from Tennessee's public schools.
The Equal Justice Institute has released a powerful video that unflinchingly explores the racial terror of America.
The National Park Service wants to tell a more complete story of the Civil War, but some cities are more receptive to that effort than others.
"EJI believes that truthfully acknowledging this history is vital to healing and reconciliation. As part of its effort to help towns, cities, and states confront and recover from tragic histories of racial violence and terrorism, EJI is joining with communities to install historical markers at the sites of lynchings..."
...In 2014, Northeastern University Law School’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, which seeks to uncover details of racially motivated murders during the Jim Crow era, began digging up documents on Hall’s case. Those documents were turned over to Northeastern’s School of Journalism, prompting a year-long investigation into the lynching and the government’s failure to see justice done.