You may have noticed that our name has changed from the James Taylor Lynching Remembrance Coalition to the James Taylor Justice Coalition. Our belief is that the shorter name is more impactful and easier for people to remember.
Our mission is ultimately to work for justice today through the lens of history. We think it is important to keep James Taylor's name. First, it will help with the transition to a new name. Second, we think it is important to say his name, to identify the human being who endured this terrible injustice. We also think people will ask, "Who is James Taylor?" which will open the door for many conversations. Deleting "Lynching" from the name of this initiative was a recommendation of several community members who believe that this name can be off-putting and hurtful to some and may cause others to offhandedly reject our message was significant.
The James Taylor Justice Coalition (JTJC) has a singular focus and a defined mission. Aligned with the Equal Justice Initiative’s (EJI) Community Remembrance Projects, we seek to shine the light of truth upon the more than 4,000 extrajudicial lynchings that occurred in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950. Only by telling the unvarnished truth about our past can we begin to address the injustices that continue against people of color in the U.S. today.
We aim to educate our community about the injustice of James Taylor’s lynching in Chestertown, Maryland in 1892. Through our outreach, we will show how raciqal terror and injustice has continued against people of color in the form of Black Codes, Jim Crow, redlining, mass incarceration, police brutality and systemic discrimination in government and in many workplaces.
We believe that, armed with truth about the past and knowledge of the present, the people of Kent County and the Eastern Shore of Maryland will seek to undertake the changes in our society necessary to insure justice and equality for all.
Contact: kentco.mdlmp@gmail.com or info@sumnerhall.org