JMJP has partnered with other sponsors to establish the Maryland Lynching Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Oral History Initiative.

Read the Press Release

The Initiative provides local county coalitions throughout the state with comprehensive oral history resources needed to conduct interviews with the descendants and relatives of racial terror lynching victims and perpetrators, historians, activists, politicians, and other community members. It will be up to the local coalitions to determine their list of potential interviewees.

The Moment and the Obligation

A historic racial reckoning is underway in the United States. The racial injustices from the past and the policies and practices that sustain systemic racism today led to dangerous levels of societal and political division, hate, fear, and pain. As sponsors of this initiative, we believe the time has come to heal racial divisions in the United States and build a racially equitable society that will endure.

Our charge is aptly summarized by Dr. Gail Christopher:

“Healing is about utilizing the authentic stories of individuals to help understand and embrace our common humanity, to remind each of us of our humanity and the power we have to generate change, and to welcome our role in going beyond winning individual struggles for change to changing the structures, systems, policies, and practices that divide us.”

Until the voices and lived experiences of Black Marylanders are centered, Maryland’s lynching history will remain only a half-truth. Uncounted women, men, and children who lived through anti-Black violence and its aftermath have been strategically silenced by the same systems that undergirded the lynching regime. This initiative will realize a community-driven vision for narrative change and restorative justice, amplifying and archiving the testimony of those who mourned, organized, persisted, and resisted in the face of racial violence.

Who will conduct the interviews?

The interviews will be co-facilitated by one or more co-faciltator(s) of the specific local coalition and by a pre-assigned historian trained in oral history theory and practice. It will be up to the local coalitions to determine which member(s) of their organization they would like to serve as co-facilitator(s). Trained historians will develop a list of proposed questions for each specific interviewee category, including: (1) Descendants/Relatives of lynching victim, accuser, or perpetrator (2) Researchers (3) Activists/Community Members.

Each county coalition should review and complete an intake form, linked here.

Will the interviews be in person?

Due to the nature of the COVID-19 crisis and potential issues with travel, we have decided that conducting virtual interviews will be our default, using cutting-edge oral history software called TheirStory. We are happy to make adjustments should the interviewer and interviewee mutually agree to interview in-person, or should an interviewee require a technology proficiency accommodation, such as conducting a phone interview.

When are the interviews scheduled?

To support coalitions as they prepare for the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s local hearings, oral history interviews will be scheduled approximately one to two months before the hearing date for each designated county or region. These will be scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays between 10am – 5pm ET.

Interviewees will be asked to follow the schedule below, selecting interview times from the days assigned to their respective county or region.

What about historical and psychosocial trauma?

Due to this work’s sensitive nature and the realities of historical trauma, counseling services will be provided to interviewees and interviewers as needed. Counselors with trauma-informed and cultural responsiveness training will be available virtually before, during, and after oral history interviews.

We are partnering with several institutions—such as Morgan State University and the University of Maryland—to establish a network of social workers including advanced candidacy Masters of Social Work (MSW) students as well as supervisory licensed/certified social workers in the state of Maryland.  Volunteer MSWs: see below to sign up for 3-hour shifts.

Interviewees and interviewers will have access to social worker support according to the proposed schedule below:

What Happens to the Oral History Interviews?

Audio/video files, edited transcripts, and other finished materials will be shared with participants and each county coalition before they are published. The oral histories will also be deposited into the archival repositories of the Maryland State Archives and Maryland’s Four Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including Bowie State University, Morgan State University, Coppin State University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Interviewees and county coalitions are welcome to suggest additional archival repositories for their materials.

Other questions:

Please direct other questions to: mdlynchingsoralhistory@gmail.com

County Coalitions:

1. Please review and complete the intake form as soon as possible.
2. Begin completing the Step-by-Step Workflow.

Interviewees:

1. They will fill out an intake form.
2. They will need to schedule their interview according to the dates available to their county (see schedule above): mdlynchingsoralhistory.youcanbook.me