Save the Dates: Montgomery County Declares Sept. 25-26 Remembrance Weekend

For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 9, 2021

The Montgomery County Remembrance and Reconciliation Commission will join Montgomery History and the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26 for Remembrance Weekend. The event will recognize two men who were the victims of racial terror lynchings in Montgomery County in the late 19th century, Mr. John Diggs-Dorsey and Mr. Sidney Randolph.

On Saturday, Sept. 25 Montgomery History will host “Unwritten Law”: A Symposium on the Lynchings in Rockville from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Three Montgomery County historians will provide accounts of the lynchings of Mr. Diggs-Dorsey and Mr. Randolph. This historical analysis will provide background on the economic, social, and political context of Montgomery County in the final decades of the 19th century and explore how elements of these murders were replicated in other parts of Maryland and the United States. This event will be virtual. You can register via Zoom here. If you have questions regarding the symposium, contact: info@Montgomeryhistory.org.  

On Sunday, Sept. 26, the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project and the County’s Remembrance and Reconciliation Commission will host the Remembrance Pilgrimage Walk from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. followed by the Soil Collection Ceremony from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Beginning at the site of the old county jail where Mr. Diggs-Dorsey and Mr. Randolph were both held, the walk passes locations that were central to a vibrant African American community, including the sites where the men were lynched. The ceremony will honor the memories of Mr. Diggs-Dorsey and Mr. Randolph with a soil collection, music, and reflections by community leaders and by a representative of the Equal Justice Initiative from Montgomery, Alabama. The Sunday events will be in-person and you can register here. For additional information, contact:  mocolynchingmemorial@gmail.com.

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Release ID: 21-716
Media Contact: Monika Hammer 240-463-2442