Blood on the Root
Between 1877 and 1950, over 4,000 African Americans were lynched across the United States. Lynchings were public acts of racial terrorism designed to instill fear in and drive out African American communities. Nobody was held accountable for these grave human rights violations; instead, many officials turned a blind eye or condoned this violence.
The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed by state legislators and signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan in 2019. It is mandated to investigate racial terror lynchings in the state, hold public hearings, and make recommendations for addressing this violent legacy. It is the first and only commission of its kind in the nation.
Across the state, descendants, activists, artists and other stakeholders deal with the intergenerational effects and the searing trauma of knowing their ancestors were brutally murdered.
This work was commissioned by the International Center for Transitional Justice.