Manasota Remembers to unveil historical marker commemorating victims of racial violence
An organization called the Sarasota & Manatee Community Remembrance Project will commemorate the victims of racial lynching and terror during a historical marker dedication at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Sarasota on Feb. 24.
The nonprofit organization, conceived in collaboration with the Montgomery, Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative, works to be a pillar of education on racial injustice and violence. A physical commemoration of Sarasota-Manatee's six documented victims of lynching has been discussed since 2018, though many in the historically Black neighborhood of Newtown initially pushed back against having a reminder of the harsh reality of violence against African Americans.
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The marker unveiling will educate the community and foster conversations about the lynchings in Manatee in Sarasota counties in the early 1900s.
Sarasota resident and retired professor Dr. Caryl Sheffield serves as chair of the Manasota Remembers Lynching Memorial Marker Dedication Committee.
An advocate for education and culturally responsive teaching, Sheffield has long spoken out about the significance of honoring lynching victims. She continues to highlight the approximately 4,400 documented victims of racial lynching, including her paternal grandfather, Caesar Sheffield, who was lynched in Lake Park, Georgia, in 1915.
“We thought it was important to acknowledge and honor those Americans who were lynched asthe culmination of events marking Black History Month, lest we forget the lives lost and families affected by the legacy of racial violence in our country,“ Sheffield said of the historical marker in a media release.
Information from Manasota Remembers researcher Hope Black as well as data collected for six years from historical archives by the Equal Justice Initiative found the six area African Americans killed in racial terror lynchings between 1903 and 1934 were Henry Thomas, Sam Ellis, Wade Ellis, Ruddy, William English and James Franklin.
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The EJI report compiles data from Florida and 11 other states with the highest documented rates of lynching and racial violence in the country. EJI reports include source data from local newspapers and media outlets along with police transcripts and other documents.
The commemorative marker was a joint effort led by the Boxser Diversity Initiative and included support from collaborative partners Manasota ASALH, Newtown Alive and the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition (SAACC).
The sold-out Historical Marker Dedication will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 3975 Fruitville Rd., in Sarasota at 11 a.m.
For more information about the Manasota Remembers Project or the Historical Marker Dedication, visit the Manasota Remembers website.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manasota Remembers to host dedication ceremony, honor lynching victims
