2023 Maryland Lynching Memorial Project Annual Conference: "Lynching in Maryland"

The MD Lynching Memorial Project, Inc. (MLMP) will hold its 6^th Annual “Lynching in Maryland” Conference on Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 9:30a to 4:00p at the Athenaeum on the campus of Goucher College in Towson, MD. Doors will open at 8:45a.

(Please note: the venue change was made necessary because the Maryland Marathon is being run through downtown Baltimore on the day of the conference.)

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 and nation to confront the truth so that healing and reconciliation might begin.

MLMP is honored to welcome acclaimed author and poet, Clint Smith, a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Clint is also the author of the poetry collections Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and the New York Times bestselling Above Ground. Clint brought international attention to Maryland's efforts to is confront its lynching history with his powerful February, 2022 essay for The Atlantic, “Now We Know Their Names." Clint's books will be available for purchase at the conference.

Also appearing will be Dreisen Heath, who leads the Human Rights Watch domestic research and advocacy efforts on reparations and reparative justice. The law that created the MD Lynching Truth & Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) pointedly omits any mention of reparations. However, Ms. Heath points out that the Commission is mandated to offer recommendations that "can be far more expansive and meet the needs of victims' families and community members, including through providing necessary reparative measures."

Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk, the primary sponsor of HB 307 (2019), the law that created the MLTRC, will also speak at the conference. Delegate Peña-Melnyk has represented District 21 (Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties) since 2007 and is the Chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee.

There are now active local coalitions in 14 of the 17 Maryland Counties where racial terror lynchings have been documented. The work of several county coalitions will be featured and attendees will have the opportunity to learn effective community engagement practices from coalition leaders. Similarly, leaders of important racial justice organizations from outside of Maryland (including the Lynching Sites Project-Memphis and the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement) will discuss their work.

There will also be a presentation on efforts to create a digital archive of resources related to lynching in Maryland, and an update on ongoing efforts to build the permanent Maryland Lynching Memorial Project exhibit at the Lewis Museum. Additional updates on the conference program will be announced soon.

To accommodate the expanded program this year, the conference will run from 9:30a to 4:00p. In-person attendees will receive a continental breakfast and lunch.

Additionally, attendees will be able to purchase Clint Smith's books on site.

Goucher College is easy to reach and located just inside the Baltimore Beltway on Dulaney Valley Road (Exit 27-A). There is plenty of free parking.