Salisbury City Council makes formal apology for lynchings
SALISBURY, Md. – Monday night’s Salisbury City Council meeting marks an important acknowledgement of horrific moments in the city’s history.
Reaching for Truth
As part of the meeting, City Council members and the Mayor read Ordinance 3333. It formally acknowledges, and makes an apology, to the family members of the three victims of Salisbury lynchings.
The ordinance comes after months of work between city leaders and the Truth, Racial Unity, Transformation, and Healing (TRUTH) Advisory Committee.
“I feel like it’s a good starting point to be able to get things out to the community, for them to be able to see exactly what’s going on, and for them to be able to look into things themselves,” said Kenisha Le’Cole, Vice Chair of the TRUTH Advisory Committee.
A Painful Past
In May 1898, 18-year-old Garfield King was accused of fatally shooting a white man outside of Twigg’s Store. King was jailed, and later dragged from his cell. Members of the mob hanged King, then fired as many as 50 shots into his chest.
In December 1931, 23-year-old Matthew Williams became another of Salisbury’s lynching victims. Williams, like King, had been accused of fatally shooting a white man. He ended up in the hospital after that altercation. An angry mob stormed the “Negro Ward” of Peninsula General Hospital, finding Williams in a straitjacket. Williams was thrown from the window, hanged in downtown Salisbury; his body burned and desecrated for hours.
Later, in 1933, George Armwood was accused of assaulting an elderly woman in Princess Anne. Armwood was taken to a prison in Salisbury. He was stabbed and beaten to death outside of the jail. Later, his body was hung and set on fire by a mob outside the Somerset County courthouse.
City’s Role, Citizens’ Trauma
In Williams’ case, historians say then-leaders in Salisbury were directly involved in, and responsible for, the lynching.
“You have the fire department that provided the rope; Chief Grier at the time. You have the State’s Attorney who was coaching the witnesses; Levin Bailey. You have the sheriff, as well as the police chief, who were all aiding and abetting in the lynching, and did nothing,” said Dr. Charles Chavis, author of “The Silent Shore.” “While this took place 100 years ago… the Black community has not forgotten this.”
Dr. Chavis says as those events stretch away from us through history, it becomes even more important to recognize why they are still relevant today. Salisbury’s history of lynchings affects the relationship between its Black citizens and the institutions they rely on, says Dr. Chavis.
“We can’t heal as a city, as a community, as a country, without grappling with the systemic failures that institutions have made towards citizens,” Dr. Chavis said. “Historic episodes of racial violence and racial terror are really ingrained in the memory of the Black community. The relationships between these institutions and the community have to be restored.”
Sparking Attention
For Le’Cole, work on the TRUTH Committee towards reaching this resolution has been a “humbling” experience.
“What I’m loving is that it is sparking attention, and it is sparking conversation, because that is all I’m hearing now; ‘Thank you,’ from different cultures, different walks of life, and different age groups,” Le’Cole said. “If we don’t tell the truth, we’re never going to get anywhere when it comes to the unity and healing aspect. We have to be able to give society the truth for them to be able to look into things.”
Beyond a formal apology, Le’Cole says she would like to see a more permanent way of honoring the victims.
“It would be something there for them to have all the time; something for their family to be able to look back on and say ‘Yeah, that’s my family member,’ and they were honored appropriately,” Le’Cole said.
Continuing the Conversation
Dr. Chavis, meanwhile, says conversations about lynchings, while painful, are necessary.
“It’s really going to be up to the citizens, both Black and white and all races, to come together, grapple with this history, and move forward,” Dr. Chavis said.
There will always be “naysayers,” according to Dr. Chavis. However, he says, this initial acknowledgement and apology paints a promising future for restoring truth, and honoring victims.
“If you already have a group of interracial folks, leaders, and members of the community who are pushing this forward, I think we really have to continue that and strengthen that movement,” Dr. Chavis said.
