Willie Washington
Lynched on January 31, 1925
Soil Collection on February 21, 2021
Willie Washington, a 22-year-old chauffeur, was shot inside his family’s downtown home on Jan. 31, 1925 after a weeklong manhunt for a nameless Black man who had attacked a white society woman.
What happened after the shooting made his death a lynching.
“The body of the negro was placed on exhibit yesterday at 11 o’clock following a conference of local officials,” the Times-Union reported at the time.
“It remained on view in the rotunda of the county jail until 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon. During the day hundreds of persons streamed through the rotunda viewing the remains of the brown criminal who stirred Jacksonville to a pitch of excitement not experienced in decades.”
As published in the Florida Times Union on February 19, 2021
Program
Mistress of Ceremony: Kimberly Allen, PhD
“Lift Every Voice and Sing”……...………………………………….. Matthew Johnson Soloist
Prayer ……………………………………………………………………... Hazzan Jesse Holzer Cantor of the Jacksonville Jewish Center
Purpose …………………………………….....……..….. Melanie Patz & Lynn Sherman
Prayer ………………………………………………………………………….Bishop John Guns St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church
“The Legacy of Racial Injustice” ………….……………………………………......Video
The Lynching of Willie Washington .…………………….………... Scott Matthews Professor of History, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Spoken Word ……………………………………………………………..………………... Reign Poet
“An Era of Truth and Justice”…………………..……..……………..……..Kayla Vinson A Law Fellow Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, Alabama
A Message to the Community …………………………………………...Hope McMath Yellow House
The Soil Collection
African Talking Drums…………..Adrian Rhodes
“We Shall Overcome”……………….…………………………...……. Jametoria Burton Soloist
Closing Prayer ……………………………………………………...Reverend Susan Rogers Dismissal to Virtual Caring Circles
The soil collected at the site of the crime will fill two jars: One to be sent to EJI’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and one to be retained locally.
Photo credit: Catye Evoniuk
Watch the Recorded Ceremony
