Lynching reenacted in
quest for justice
By AP from CNN.com on
the Web, July 26, 2005
MONROE, Georgia -- Civil
rights activists marked the 59th anniversary of an unsolved lynching by
re-enacting the brutal slayings of two black couples who were forced out of
their car by a mob of white men and killed.
The scene was recreated Monday evening with black volunteers acting as Ku Klux
Klansmen, fireworks for gunshots and fake blood poured on for effect.
Lakeitha Lewis-Johnson, 30, cried during the re-enactment and turned away from
the shouts of the Klan leader.
"My grandmother lived in that era," Lewis-Johnson said. "She'd be scared
to talk about this, even as an old woman. It's a hurting feeling."
Activists said they staged the re-enactment to gain support for the prosecution
of anyone who may have been involved in what they called the last mass public
lynching in the United States.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who joined religious and civil rights leaders at the
rally, called for justice and urged those responsible to come forward.
"You know who you are, and God knows who you are," Jackson shouted. "The
police will not turn you in and the prosecutors will not pursue you, but the
blood of the lynched cries out."
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Rosie Crowley
portrays a pregnant Dorothy Malcom during the reenactment of the 1946
lynching. |
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Roger and Dorothy Malcom and George
and Mae Murray Dorsey were riding with a white farmer when they were killed on
July 25, 1946, a few days after Roger Malcom got into a fight with a white man.
The mob forced them out of the car, dragged them down a wagon trail about 50
yards from a bridge over the Apalachee River and shot them, according to an FBI
report. The farmer was spared.
On Monday, a crowd of about 200 watched as the lynchings of the Dorseys and
Malcoms were brought to life. The men fought as the women pleaded for
their lives. Dorothy Malcom, who was pregnant, wrapped her arms over her
unborn child.
No one was ever charged in the lynchings, even though the FBI's report named 55
suspects. State Rep. Tyrone Brooks said he knows of two living in Walton
County, and a few others outside Georgia.
"This is a stain on our history, and a burden on our soul," Brooks said.
"But the stain can be erased, and the burden can be lifted. The eyes of
the nation shall now focus on Monroe, Georgia, just as the eyes of the nation
focused on Philadelphia, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama," he said,
referring to the recent prosecutions and convictions in civil-rights era
slayings in those cities.
Last month, 1,000 members of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials
unanimously passed a resolution urging prosecutors to bring charges in the case.
Walton County District Attorney Ken Wynne has said he understands the desire for
justice but the case lacks sufficient witnesses and evidence.
The FBI was ordered to investigate the case in 1946 by President Truman but was
thwarted by a lack of witnesses. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent
Fred Stephens said recently that his office is pursuing every lead it gets.
"They are sparse," he said, "but we have no doubt that there are still people in
that community who have specific information about this case."
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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