Between 1865 and 1950, more than 6,000 African Americans were known to have been lynched in the United States. These lynchings were acts of racial terrorism designed to intimidate and to reinforce racial segregation and white supremacy. In the State of Maryland, at least 38 documented racial terror lynchings took place between 1854 and 1933, with at least 3 known to have taken place in Wicomico County.
The Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative (WTRI) is a local movement in Wicomico County that seeks to address our community's history of white supremacy through education and advocacy.
We were integral in the creation of the City of Salisbury Lynching Memorial Task Force, an effort which we helped lead to the installation of the eastern shore’s first memorial to victims of racial terror lynching in May of 2021.
We have partnered with national and regional efforts as well as local government to facilitate the creation of the City of Salisbury Truth, Racial Unity, Transformation and Healing (TRUTH) Advisory Committee, which seeks to address our community’s history and find a way forward.
We also seek to advocate for local schools and educational institutions to fully teach the history that has either been misrepresented or erased entirely.
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“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
― Ida B. Wells-Barnett