November is the first-ever Remembrance and Reconciliation Month in Montgomery County, Maryland, dedicated to exploring the county’s history of lynchings.
The purpose of Remembrance and Reconciliation Month is to give community members a chance to connect and take part in conversations about addressing the past and moving forward.
Jason Green, the chair of the Remembrance and Reconciliation Commission, said the panel was created by the County Council in 2019 “to try and promote a better of our understanding of our history with racial terror lynchings, We wanted to inspire and encourage conversations about our past.”
This weekend will feature the art exhibition “Certain Party or Parties Unknown” in downtown Rockville. The show will include projection art installations and stories about the lives of three men who were lynched during the 1880s: John Diggs-Dorsey, Sidney Randolph and George Peck.
The title of the exhibit refers to the term used to describe the perpetrators of lynchings when no one was held accountable.
Other events include a soil ceremony, a student art week, a racial justice essay contest, a public arts demonstration, a museum exhibit, a virtual address by Rep. Jamie Raskin and a documentary film screening.
The commission is partnering with other local organizations, including the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project.
Green said the goal is to encourage other organizations to create space for dialogue through similar events and gatherings: “The conversations begin and they don’t end. These concepts and efforts need to continue in perpetuity.”
