On Saturday, October 3, 2020 members of the Allegany County Lynching Truth & Reconciliation Committee (ACLTRC) along with a few community members, gathered to acknowledge and reconcile with the racial terror lynching of William Burns. The soil collection took place at the county courthouse where the lynching occurred almost exactly 113 years ago on October 6, 1907. After hearing remarks from members of the committee between the Courthouse site and the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, everyone moved to a designated area of the courthouse lawn where an account of Burns’ lynching was shared.
Local Black community members led the group in prayer, words, and the pouring of libations in remembrance of Burns and other ancestors. Ground was then broken and soil was lifted by community members into wheelbarrows, where it was transported to the Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s Bishop’s Garden to be sifted and packed into jars provided by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).
Following the soil collection, a few members of the Black community also performed a traditional ceremony of prayer and pouring of libations at the precise site of the lynching, which occurred in the now paved street behind the Courthouse and in front of where the county jail was located in 1907.
The group reconnected again in the garden to finish processing the soil for placement in the jars. Later that day, many of the same community members and members of ACLTRC participated in a march organized by the Allegany County NAACP Branch #7007 called ‘She Matters’ to seek justice for Breonna Taylor.
The jars were dedicated in a ceremony at Cumberland’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church, during their November 1, 2020 celebration of the 156th anniversary of Maryland’s Emancipation Day.
In this ceremony, the community was invited to attend in person and online to hear and reconcile with the truth of racial terror lynching. An account was read depicting the last days of William Burns’ life and of his murder at the hands of white officials and community members who were never held accountable. In person attendees were invited to place the collected soil in a large jar, one of six holding soil to be dedicated.
This was followed by a Litany of Healing where white allies stood in attendance and recited a “Lament
for White America for People of Color.”
A recording of the full ceremony and a digital copy
of the account that was read can be viewed at https://www.thebrownsvilleproject.com/acltrc
Community members representing the Allegany County NAACP Branch #7007, ACLTRC, Allegany County Museum, and Emmanuel Episcopal Church witnessed and received the jars to be exhibited locally, including one jar to be given to the descendants of William Burns when they are found.
Information about local exhibits of collected soil is forthcoming and will be publicly announced at a later date.
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