Beginning the Journey From Truth to Reconciliation: Cecil County

Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War II, more than 5,000 Black Americans were victims of racial terror lynchings in the United States. No fewer than 40 of these crimes were committed in Maryland, including at least two in Cecil County.

The process of working to form a committee in Cecil County started on March 27, 2019, when the Harford County Committee of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project first met.  As a large group of interested stakeholders attended the public gathering in Bel Air to discuss lynching in Harford County, the group agreed to also support and courage the establishment of a similar group in Cecil County.

These efforts are an outgrowth of that work.

Will Schwarz, chairman of the state committee, welcomes the audience at Harford Community College.

Dr. Iris Barnes, chair for the Harford County Committee, welcomes about 40 people to the first meeting

 in Bel Air.