Speaking My Name
The Walking Divas of Amherst, Massachuesettes reading names of those who were lynched in the United States.
Watch VideoThe Walking Divas of Amherst, Massachuesettes reading names of those who were lynched in the United States.
Watch VideoReading by LaVonette Luciano Burnett about Eliza Woods, a woman lynched in the United States.
Watch VideoReading by Destenie Nock – PhD candidate in industrial engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Nock has two bachelors degrees in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from North Carolina A&T State University.
Watch VideoThe Lynching excerpt: "And soon the mixed crowds came to view, the ghastly body swaying in the sun. The women thronged to look, but never a one showed sorrow in her eyes of steely blue..." Image: A postcard of a lynching in Duluth, Minnesota, June 15, 1920.
"We need to speak their names to let them (African Americans who were lynched, chopped up and sold as souvenirs) know that we have not forgotten them. We cannot heal this country unless we acknowledge our American history," said Dr. Whitaker.
Watch VideoThomas A. Wiseman Sr. speaks about his childhood, Emmett Till and how his mother helped those who were looking for Emmett Till, to support his family.
Watch VideoNobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen Image: In the 1921 Tulsa race riot thousands of whites rampaged through the black community, killing men and women, burning and looting stores and homes. Up to 300 blacks were killed. United States Library of Congress
Mercy Mercy by Deangelo Nock takes your mind on a ride through the depths of thinking about everyting.
Watch VideoGeorge Washington Lee (December 25, 1903 – May 7, 1955) was an African-American civil rights leader, minister, and entrepreneur. He was a vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership and head of the Belzoni, Mississippi, branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Image: Rev. George W. Lee lies in his coffin, his wound for all to see. He is one of the first Civil Rights Actavist who was murdered and left with facial disfigurement, in a open casket funeral. Museums of African American History and Heritage
Watch VideoPoem by Destenie Nock and reading by Nathaniel Whitaker. The Soldiers of the 369th (15th N.Y.) who won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action, 1919 – World War I.
Image: "Some of the colored men of the 369th (15th N.Y.) who won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action." Left to right. Front row: Pvt. Ed Williams, Herbert Taylor, Pvt. Leon Fraitor, Pvt. Ralph Hawkins. Back Row: Sgt. H. D. Prinas, Sgt. Dan Strorms, Pvt. Joe Williams, Pvt. Alfred Hanley, and Cpl. T. W. Taylor. 1998 print. Records of the War Department General and Special. Staffs. (165-WW-127-8).
Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker took it upon herself to mourn all the African Americans who were lynched in the United States with a homegoing. "Ashes to Ashes" are the final words in typical African American funeral services.
Video: Natalia Muñoz, Multimedia JournalistVerdant Multicultural Media
Watch VideoMs. Hazel L., age 78, who is from the south, describes in great detail how African Americans, including her mother, would wash the white sheets of the Ku Klux Klan.
Watch VideoClarence G. Johnson, age 59, who lives in Dallas, Texas, describes his encounter with racism as young child who drank a sip of water from the wrong water fountain.
Watch VideoRobert Meeropol, the adopted son of former Teachers Union members Anne and Abel Meeropol, is a lawyer, social activist and author. Abel Meeropol wrote the anti-lynching anthem, Strange Fruit. It made its debut as a 1936.
Watch VideoKrissy Dunigan selected the name “Mrs. Ben French” for Speak My Name Day. Krissy explains how she found the lynching story and what happen.
Watch VideoPoem Excerpt: Return them from animal to human, reborn in the long run. This poem by Ansel Elkins, was one of the winners of the 2011 “Discovery” Poetry Contest. The contest, in partnership with the Boston Review, recognizes and celebrates the achievements of poets who have not yet published a book.
“Discovery” Poetry Contest WinnersBoston Review
Read PoemAshes to Ashes is a memorial-like service given to the forgotten and sometimes nameless victims of brutal racism.
Demetria Shabazz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts in the Department of Communication. Her research interests include the role of media in history as constitutive of African, African American, and other communities of culture.
Watch VideoLynching In America, Confronting The Legacy of Racial Terror by Equal Justice Initiative – Listen, watch, explore, and learn about the painful stories of America's history of racial injustice. In order to heal the deep wounds of our present, we must face the truth of our past.
Watch VideoCharlie Horton was born (1946) and raised in Bossier City Louisiana, tells us a true story about one day when he was picking watermelon in Bossier City, Louisiana – Mr. Horton, now in his seventies, tells us about the day he saw a little black boy hanging in a tree at the Charles Hoyer Plantation.
Watch VideoAltaneshya Gordon poetry takes us on a ride through the questions of right and wrong, the American life in the face of racism.
Watch VideoGibron Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants in Dallas, Tesxas gives thanks to Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker for her works efforts to educate and begin the healing process in America.
Watch VideoDr. Whitaker is a long term resident of Amherst who was trained as an internist and Nephrologist. Inspired by her experience as a physician and artist, her desire is to continue to give back to her community using her own artwork to get her health gospel out. She uses her time to help educate the general public, and she's created quite a following behind her mantra "Taking Charge of Your Health."