In observance of Black History Month, an exhibit memorializing three men who were lynched in Montgomery County will be on display throughout February at Rockville Memorial Library.
“It Happened in Rockville: Remembering Two Lynchings,” will be on display in the main atrium of the library, 21 Maryland Ave., in Rockville Town Square. Find library hours at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Library/branches/rockville.html.
Created by the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project, the exhibit memorializes two men lynched in Rockville: John Diggs-Dorsey, in 1880, and Sidney Randolph, in 1896. A third man, George Peck, was lynched in Poolesville in 1880. The exhibit is part of MoCoLMP’s initiative to educate and engage the public in acknowledging the history and legacy of lynching and racial terrorism in Montgomery County.
Working with the Montgomery, Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative, and the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, MoCoLMP is part of an effort to advance the cause of racial reconciliation in Maryland, advocating for public acknowledgment of these murders, and working to honor and dignify the lives of the victims.
When the exhibit was first displayed at Peerless Rockville, visitors called it “Powerful!” “Must-viewing for our schools” and, “An informative, beautiful and moving exhibit.”
The exhibit includes jars of soil collected near the lynching sites, and photographs and information about the Black community in historic Rockville and about Remembrance Weekend events that were held in September.
For more information, email [email protected].