Community Historical Marker Project
EJI is joining with communities to install narrative historical markers at the sites of racial terror lynchings.
The public narrative a nation creates about what is important is reflected in memorials and monuments. Who is honored, what is remembered, what is memorialized tells a story about a society that can’t be reflected in other ways.
–Bryan Stevenson, EJI Executive Director
EJI has sponsored historical markers in communities across the country.
Salina, Saline County, Kansas
June 2022
The Dana Adams Project 1893 partnered with EJI to install a historical marker at the Robert Caldwell Plaza in Salina to recognize the lynching of a 19-year-old Black man named Dana Adams who was lynched in 1893 in Saline County.
Eatontown, Monmouth County, New Jersey
June 2022
The New Jersey Social Justice Remembrance Coalition partnered with EJI to install a historical marker in Wampum Park in Eatontown in remembrance of Samuel “Mingo Jack” Johnson, a Black man who was lynched in Eatontown in 1886.
Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas
June 2022
The Douglas County Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker near the old Kansas River Bridge in Lawrence dedicated to three Black men who were lynched and hanged to the same bridge in 1882.
Coshocton, Coshocton County, Ohio
June 2022
The Coshoctonians for Peace and Equality grassroots coalition partnered with EJI to install a historical marker at the Coshocton County Courthouse to memorialize a Black man named Henry Howard, who was lynched on the court square in 1885.
Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida
March 2022
The Alachua County Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker at their Martin Luther King Community Center in memory of four Black men who were lynched by white mobs in Gainesville between 1877 and 1950.
Baldwin County, Alabama
February 2022
Community members in Baldwin County, Alabama, partnered with EJI to install a historical marker dedicated to memorializing the lynching of a Black man named Reuben Sims, who was lynched by a white mob in Little River, Alabama in 1904.
Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia
January 2022
The Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition in partnership with EJI unveiled a historical marker in downtown Lawrenceville memorializing Charles Hale, a Black man who was lynched on the Gwinnett County Courthouse square in 1911.
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
December 2021
The Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice worked alongside EJI and descendants of Fred Rouse, a Black man lynched in Fort Worth in 1921, to install a historical marker in a new park named the Fred Rouse Memorial Park, located at the site of his lynching.
Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina
November 2021
The Community Remembrance Project of Greenville County, South Carolina, in partnership with EJI, dedicated a historical marker in memory of Tom Keith, an older Black man who was lynched by a white mob on August 16, 1899, in Greenville. The marker was installed near Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, located at 1101 Roe Ford Road, on property owned by Furman University. Local research indicates that Mr. Keith was likely captured along Roe Ford Road by the white mob who lynched him and threw his body in the Saluda River.
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
November 2021
The Dallas County Justice Initiative, in partnership with EJI, unveiled a historical marker in memory of Allen Brooks, a Black man who was lynched by a white mob in Dallas, Texas, in 1910. The marker is located at the intersection of Main and Akard streets in downtown Dallas, at the location where Mr. Brooks was lynched.
Leonardtown, St. Mary’s County, Maryland
November 2021
Community members dedicated a historical marker in memory of Benjamin Hance, a 22-year-old Black man who was lynched by a white mob in Leonardtown on June 17, 1887. Members of the St. Mary’s County Museum Division in partnership with EJI installed the marker at the Old Jail Museum, located at 41625 Courthouse Road, which was the site where the mob abducted Mr. Hance from jail before hanging him to death at a nearby location.
Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama
November 2021
Community members in Mobile, Alabama, partnered with EJI to install a historical marker in memory of a Black man named Richard Robertson, who was lynched near the Mobile County Jail in 1909.
Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida
October 2021
The Alachua County Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker memorializing eight Reconstruction-era lynching victims who were killed in Gainesville, installing the marker in front of the Alachua County Administration Building where a Confederate statute stood until 2017.
Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina
October 2021
The Buncombe Community Remembrance Project and the MLK Association of Asheville and Buncombe County partnered with EJI to dedicate three historical markers in memory of three documented victims of racial terror lynching in Buncombe County: John Humphries (1888), Hezekiah Rankin (1891), and Bob Brackett (1897).
Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida
October 2021
904WARD and the Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project, in partnership with EJI, unveiled a historical marker at the Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, that memorializes Bowman Cook and John Morine, two Black World War I veterans who were lynched during the Red Summer of 1919.
Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana
September 2021
The Facing Injustice Project of the Greater Terre Haute NAACP partnered with EJI and descendants of a Black man named George Ward who was lynched in 1901 to install a historical marker at the North Fairbanks Park, near the site where Mr. Ward was abducted and lynched.
Oxford, Lafayette County, Mississippi
September 2021
The Lafayette Community Remembrance Project in partnership with EJI installed a historical marker on the east side of the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, Mississippi, in memory of seven Black men who were lynched by white mobs between 1890 and 1935.
Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina
August 2021
Actions in Faith & Justice Remembrance Project partnered with EJI and local organizations to dedicate a historical marker acknowledging six documented racial terror lynchings in Rowan County. The marker is located between the Oak Grove-Freedman’s Cemetery and the Rowan County Detention Center.
Newberry, Alachua County, Florida
August 2021
The Alachua County Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to dedicate a historical marker in remembrance of nine documented victims of racial terror lynching in Newberry, Florida, at the Freddie Warmack Park.
Allegany County, Maryland
August 2021
The Allegany County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Committee of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, in partnership with EJI, dedicated a historical marker in remembrance of a Black 18-year-old who was lynched in 1907.
Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida
July 2021
The Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to dedicate a historical marker in Cascades Park in remembrance of four Black racial terror lynching victims in Leon County—Ernest Ponder, Richard Hawkins, Mick Morris, and Pierce Taylor.
Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi
August 2021
Community members partnered with EJI to dedicate a historical marker at Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Hickory, Mississippi, in remembrance of the 1908 lynchings of Frank Johnson, Dee Dawkins, and William Fielder.
Lee County, Alabama
June 2021
The Lee County Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker in historic downtown Opelika’s Courthouse Square to memorialize the lynchings of four Black people—John Moss, George Hart, Charles Humphries, and Samuel Harris.
Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas
June 2021
The Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement partnered with EJI to install a historical marker at the Haven of Rest Cemetery in remembrance of John Carter, a Black man who was lynched by a white mob in 1927.
Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
June 2021
The Omaha Community Council for Racial Justice and Reconciliation partnered with EJI and local organizations to dedicate a historical marker at the Douglas County Courthouse in remembrance of the 1919 lynching of Will Brown.
Atchison County, Kansas
June 2021
Atchison United partnered with EJI and local organizations to install a historical marker in remembrance of the 1870 lynching of a Black man named George Johnson in the new sculpture courtyard located in the 400 block of Commercial Street in Atchison.
Union County, South Carolina
June 2021
The Union County Community Remembrance Project coalition partnered with EJI to unveil two historical markers in downtown Union. One documents the 1871 Union County Jail Raid Massacre and a second memorializes 19 victims of racial terror lynching killed in Union County between 1865 and 1950.
Coos County, Oregon
June 2021
The Oregon Remembrance Project and the Coos History Museum partnered with EJI to erect a historical marker in remembrance of the 1903 lynching of Alonzo Tucker. The marker is located in front of the Coos History Museum.
Butler County, Ohio
June 2021
The Truth and Justice Project Coalition based in Oxford, Ohio, partnered with EJI to erect a historical marker memorializing the lynchings of two Black men—Simeon Garnet, who was lynched in 1877, and Henry Corbin, who was lynched in 1892. The marker is located in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park in downtown Oxford.
Druid Hills, DeKalb County, Georgia
May 2021
The Druid Hills Committee of the DeKalb Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to erect a historical marker memorializing the 1945 lynching of a Black man named Porter Turner. The marker is located in the Druid Hills neighborhood near the intersection of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Oakdale Road.
Baltimore County, Maryland
May 2021
The Baltimore County Committee of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project partnered with EJI to dedicate a historical marker in remembrance of Howard Cooper, a 15-year-old child who was brutally lynched in Baltimore County in 1885. The marker is located in front of the old Baltimore County Jail.
Washington County, Arkansas
May 2021
The Washington County Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker in the historic Oaks Cemetery to venerate the lives of Aaron, Anthony, and Randall, three victims of racial terror violence in Washington County, Arkansas.
Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland
May 2021
The Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative partnered with EJI and local organizations to dedicate a historical marker on the Wicomico County Courthouse lawn in remembrance of three Black people lynched in Salisbury between 1898 and 1931.
Shelby County, Kentucky
April 2021
The Shelbyville Community Remembrance Project Coalition partnered with EJI to erect three historical markers in front of the old Shelby County Jail and Courthouse in downtown Shelbyville that memorialize the lynchings of six people in Shelby County, Kentucky—Reuben Dennis, Sam Pulliam, Wade Patterson, Eugene Marshall, Clarence Garnett, and Jimbo Fields.
Pinellas County, Florida
February 2021
Pinellas Remembers, a Community Remembrance Project coalition, partnered with EJI to install a historical marker for John Evans, a Black man lynched in St. Petersburg, Florida, on November 12, 1914. The marker is located near the site of Mr. Evans’s lynching, at the intersection of Old Ninth Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Street) and Second Avenue South.
Irondale, Jefferson County, Alabama
February 2021
The Irondale Memorial Coalition partnered with EJI and the Jefferson County Memorial Project to unveil a historical marker for William Wardley, a Black man lynched in Irondale, Alabama, on December 7, 1896. The marker is located near 1900 First Avenue North, by the railroad tracks where Mr. Wardley’s body was found.
Lithonia, DeKalb County, Georgia
February 2021
The Lithonia Committee of the DeKalb Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to erect a historical marker across the street from Lithonia City Hall memorializing the lynching of three Black men—Reuben Hudson in 1887 and two men in 1892 whose names are not known.
Roswell, Fulton County, Georgia
February 2021
The Mack Henry Brown Historic Marker Committee of the Fulton County Remembrance Coalition partnered with EJI to unveil and dedicate a historical marker in memory of Mack Henry Brown in Roswell, Georgia. The marker is located in Riverside Park where Mr. Brown’s body was found.
Forsyth County, Georgia
January 2021
The Community Remembrance Project of Forsyth County partnered with EJI to install a historical marker in remembrance of Rob Edwards, a Black man who was lynched in Cumming, Georgia, in 1912. The marker stands in downtown Cumming at the corner of East Courthouse Square and West Maple Street, near where Mr. Edwards was lynched.
New Orleans, Louisiana
December 2020
The Orleans Legacy Project hosted a soil collection ceremony and installed a historical marker on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in remembrance of the July 1900 Mass Lynching in New Orleans, in which countless Black residents were terrorized, maimed, and killed by white mobs over several days.
Denver, Colorado
November 2020
The Colorado Lynching Memorial Project unveiled a historical marker in remembrance of Preston John Porter Jr., a Black 15-year-old who was killed by a white mob in a public spectacle lynching on November 16, 1900.
Hayneville, Lowndes County, Alabama
November 2020
The Lowndes County Community Remembrance Coalition installed a historical marker to memorialize the 1888 lynching of Theo Calloway. The marker stands on the grounds of the Lowndes County Courthouse in Hayneville, Alabama.
Duluth, Minnesota
October 2020
The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial and the Duluth Chapter of the NAACP along with city officials and community members unveiled a historical marker at the site where Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie were lynched in June 1920.
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
September 2020
The Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition unveiled a historical marker in front of the historic Vernon AME Church in the Greenwood District to recognize the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.
Walker County, Georgia
September 2020
The Walker County Georgia Remembrance Coalition unveiled a historical marker on the grounds of the Marsh-Warthen-Clements House that recognizes Henry White, a Black man who was lynched in 1916.
Madison County, Tennessee
July 2020
The Jackson-Madison County Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker to memorialize two victims of racial terror lynching in Madison County, Tennessee.
Athens County, Ohio
June 2020
The Christopher Davis Community Remembrance Project partnered with EJI to install a historical marker in Athens, Ohio, this week to memorialize the 1881 lynching of Christopher Davis.
Shelby County, Alabama
June 2020
The Montevallo Community Remembrance Coalition partnered with EJI to install a historical marker recognizing the victims of a double lynching in Shelby County, Alabama, in 1889.
DeKalb County, Georgia
May 2020
The NAACP DeKalb Remembrance Coalition partnered with EJI to install a historical marker to memorialize the lynchings of four Black men in DeKalb County, Georgia, between 1877 and 1950.
Fort Deposit, Alabama
December 2019
The marker details the history of racial terror lynching, and specifically memorializes the lynchings of Mr. Ed Bracy, Mr. Jim Press Meriweather, and Rev. G. Smith Watkins, three Black sharecroppers and union leaders lynched in Lowndes County in 1935.
Springfield, Missouri
October 2019
Three African American men, Horace Duncan, Fred Coker, and William Allen, were lynched at Park Central Square in 1906 by a white mob. Over 100 years later, the Springfield community gathered to heal, grieve, and concretize the memories of these three men.
Annapolis, Maryland
September 2019
On Calvert Street at Whitmore Park, a marker commemorates five African Americans killed in Anne Arundel County.
Birmingham, Alabama
September 2019
At Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama, the marker recognizes two Black coal miners lynched in Jefferson County for challenging unjust and dangerous employment conditions. Tom Redmond, lynched in 1890, and Jake McKenzie, lynched in 1897, were killed by a white mob while heroically defending other Black men at the Brookside Mines, one of two former convict leasing sites in the county.
Charlottesville, Virginia
July 2019
Charlottesville residents memorialized the 1898 lynching of John Henry James who was falsely accused of assaulting a white woman and lynched by a mob at least 150 armed white men. Pieces of his clothing and body were kept as souvenirs, but no one was ever charged or held accountable for his murder.
Nashville, Tennessee
June 2019
Located in downtown Nashville, the marker recognizes the racial terror lynching of four men lynched. Brothers Henry and Ephraim Grizzard were killed by white residents of Davidson and Sumner counties in April 1892. David Jones and Jo Reed, victims of pre-1877 racial terror lynchings, were both kidnapped from the local jail and lynched by a white mob.
Orlando, Florida
June 2019
A historical marker honoring July Perry, who was lynched on Election Night 1920, was installed in front of the Orange County Regional History Center.
Kansas City, Missouri
December 2018
The marker tells the story of Mr. Levi Harrington who was lynched in 1882 by a white mob of several hundred, despite news reports that he was innocent. The Mayor of Kansas City dedicated December 1, 2018, as Levi Harrington Remembrance Day.
Center, Texas
December 2018
At Triumph Church in Center, Texas, a historical marker documents the lynching of Lige Daniels, a 16-year old Black man lynched by a white mob of at least 1,000 people. Family members of Mr. Daniels were present at the ceremony which included performances and speeches from the community.
Oxford, Mississippi
October 2018
In September 1935, Elwood Higginbottom was abducted from the local jail and lynched by a white mob of at least 50 men. Located at the corner of North Lamar Boulevard and Molly Barr Road in Oxford, a historical marker memorializes the site where Mr. Higgenbottom was lynched.
Selma, Alabama
March 2018
The marker located at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge memorializes three of 19 African American men lynched in Dallas County.
Austin, Texas
December 2017
The marker memorializes the 1894 triple lynching of a Black woman and two Black men who were seized from a small jail outside of Austin by a mob.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
March 2017
The marker located in front of the Old Tuscaloosa Jail memorializes eight African American men lynched in the county between 1884 and 1933.
LaGrange, Georgia
March 2017
The marker located at Warren Temple United Methodist Church memorializes the lynching of Austin Callaway who was seized from the LaGrange jail by a mob and left to die on a rural road.
Gadsden, Alabama
December 2016
In February 1906, a large white mob abducted Bunk Richardson from the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden and lynched him. Community members came together to dedicate a historical marker in his memory.
Abbeville, South Carolina
October 2016
In the town square, the marker tells the story of Anthony Crawford who was lynched in 1916 after arguing with a white merchant over the price of cottonseed. Hundreds of Crawford family members attended the marker ceremony years after the family was exiled from the community.
Letohatchee, Alabama
July 2016
The marker, located at Rehobeth Missionary Church, memorializes the lynchings of seven victims in this small community between 1900 and 1917. After speaking out against the lynching of a Black man in the community, Jim Cross, his wife, and their two children were lynched. Almost two decades later, William and his brother, Samuel or Jesse Powell, were also lynched.
Brighton, Alabama
December 2015
Located near Brighton City Hall, the marker memorializes the 1908 lynching of William Miller. Mr. Miller was an African American coal miner who was seeking better wages for Black workers and was murdered by a white mob.
Community Soil Collection Ceremonies
In addition to partnering with communities to install historical markers, EJI collaborates with community partners to facilitate community soil collection ceremonies, including:
Franklin County, Kentucky
August 2019
EJI joined state and local officials and community members for a soil collection service on Sunday to commemorate the lynchings of Marshall Boston and John Maxey in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Newton County, Mississippi
August 2019
Descendants of three victims of racial terror lynching in Newton County, Mississippi, joined with community members and EJI staff to collect soil from lynching sites.
Maryland’s Eastern Shore
November 2017
Community members including Showing Up for Racial Justice and the Fenix Youth Project collected soil along Maryland’s Eastern Shore in remembrance of six victims of racial terror lynchings.
Coatesville, Pennsylvania
November 2017
Community members in Coatesville, PA gathered for a soil collection ceremony to honor the life of Zachariah Walker, who was lynched in 1911.
Chattanooga, Tennessee
October 2017
Community members and advocates with the Ed Johnson Project gathered together to acknowledge four men, Edward Johnson, Albert Blount, Charles Williams, and Charles Brown, who were the victims of racial terror lynchings in the community.