2022 Maryland Lynching Memorial Project "Lynching in Maryland" Conference

The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project will hold its 5th annual conference, "Lynching in Maryland", on Saturday, November 12, 2022 from 9:30a to 12:30p.

This year, we will be returning to the site of our very first conference by gathering at the Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture in Baltimore. The program will also be live-streamed for those who wish to attend virtually.

As in years past, the program will include a variety of presentations, panel discussions and films that consider the history of racial terror lynching in Maryland, its lasting effects and efforts around the state to confront the truth so that healing and reconciliation might begin.

We are thrilled to announce that our keynote speaker this year is Dr. Terry Anne Scott, associate professor of American history and Chair of the Department of History at Hood College. Dr. Scott is the author of the acclaimed recently published book, "Lynching and Leisure: Race and the Transformation of Mob Violence in Texas" (University of Arkansas Press, 2022). From the Amazon review:

"In Lynching and Leisure, Terry Anne Scott examines how white Texans transformed lynching from a largely clandestine strategy of extralegal punishment into a form of racialized recreation in which crowd involvement was integral to the mode and methods of the violence. Scott powerfully documents how lynchings came to function not only as tools for debasing the status of Black people but also as highly anticipated occasions for entertainment, making memories with friends and neighbors, and reifying whiteness. In focusing on the sense of pleasure and normality that prevailed among the white spectatorship, this comprehensive study of Texas lynchings sheds new light on the practice understood as one of the chief strategies of racial domination in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century South."

Dr. Scott's work, and book, were featured on this WYPR interview earlier this year. Dr. Scott also appeared in the award-winning documentary "Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day", which we were honored to screen online earlier this year.

[NOTE TO IN-PERSON ATTENDEES: Copies of "Lynching and Leisure" will be available for purchase and signing at the conference.]

Additional Program Segments

Maryland's Unsolved Racial Murders
Recently, the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) at Northeastern University School of Law released a digital archive of material relating to 1,000 racially motivated homicides in the South between 1930 and 1954. This digital archive will eventually include cases some 40 cases of racially motivated homicides in Maryland. Dr. Charles Chavis, Vice Chair of the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) and a board member of MLMP, was granted early access to those records. Though not technically in the purview of the MLTRC, the racial nature of these crimes might argue for their inclusion. Dr. Chavis will make that case, discuss the importance of the archive and explore what justice looks like for the victims, their survivors and the citizens of Maryland.

Dr. Chavis' recent book, "Silent Shore: The Lynching of Matthew Williams and the Politics of Racism in the Free State" will be available for purchase and signing at the conference.

Commission Report Card
By the time the conference convenes, the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) will have held five public hearings. How should we measure success? A panel of experts will review the results of hearings already held by the MLTRC. Panelists will also consider a number of possible evaluation metrics and whether or not they should be applied to work of the MLTRC. Panelists include:

• Dr. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. His work focuses on International Relations and Comparative Politics, with a focus on Human Rights, Transitional Justice, and Peace & Conflict Studies.
• Virginie Ladisch works with the International Center for Transitional Justice providing technical support around ways to engage children and youth in transitional justice processes. She has done extensive fieldwork on truth commissions and reconciliation in Latin America.
• JUST ADDED! Monica Lindsey is a public school teacher and the President of Alkebulan Inc., a non profit geared at education and strategic social justice. Monica also serves as the co-chair of Connecting the Dots, a grass roots racial justice organization that she helped found in 2017 and is a recipient of the Fannie Lou Hamer Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Anne Arundel County, Maryland; Alan Hillard Legum Award; and the MSEA Human Civil Rights Award.
• Dr. Nicholas Creary (moderator) helped write the legislation that created the MLTRC. While at Bowie State Dr. Creary and his students did research on the history of lynchings in Maryland that proved foundational to truth and reconciliation efforts in the state. Nick is founding director of MLMP and represents the organization on the MLTRC.

Truth and Reconciliation in the Classroom
Among the goals of the truth and reconciliation movement is to correct the historical record and change the national narrative around race. When should the history of racial terror be introduced to students and what are age-appropriate ways to broach this painful subject? We will survey a number of creative efforts to approach this difficult subject with Maryland students of different ages.

Invisible History at CCBC
Under the leadership of Ms. Adrianne Washington, first and second year students majoring in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), design projects focused on lynching cases within Maryland and conduct research on these crimes. The narratives they create are added to a website dedicated to Invisible History, sponsored by the college. Many students are non-traditional, between the ages of 25-45 and natives of Maryland. Professor Washington will lead a panel of current and former students who will discuss the importance of Invisible History in their education and career paths, how the subject matter can change the dynamics of the classroom and have a profound impact on the faculty, students and college community.

MLMP at the Lewis Update
Learn about plans and progress for the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project permanent exhibition at the Lewis Museum from the Museum's director, Terri Freeman.

Building a Digital Archive
With the support of a Miller History Grant from the Maryland Center for History and Culture, the MLMP is in the process creating a digital archive of records associated with Maryland's history of racial terror lynching. Get an inside look at how it's done.

Watch this space for additional programming updates in the weeks ahead.

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We look forward to seeing you on November 12 at the Lewis!
The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project