Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition Soil Collection for Charles Hale

185 W Crogan St, Lawrenceville, GA 30046,Lawrenceville GA 30046

19 June, 2021

Description

Soil collection ceremony to memorialize Charles Hale, an African American man who was lynched in downtown Lawrenceville on April 8, 1911 To memorialize Charles Hale, an African American man who was lynched in downtown Lawrenceville on April 8, 1911, and to educate the Gwinnett community about this dark chapter in our county’s history. Digging up soil and preserving it in a special jar for public display is a solemn, symbolic, spiritual way to honor Mr. Hale and to acknowledge his humanity and the trauma, terror, and pain that he must have experienced in his last moments. Digging up and preserving the soil is a tangible way of memorializing Mr. Hale, restoring his dignity, and ensuring that he is not forgotten and that he did not die in vain. His life will be commemorated with invocations from local clergy, proclamations from the Lawrenceville City Council and Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, as well as song, poetry and narrative. This event is being presented by the Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition in partnership with the City of Lawrenceville, the County of Gwinnett and the Gwinnett Historic Restoration and Preservation Board and in cooperation with the Equal Justice Initiative. To learn more about the Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition visit https://gwinnett-remembrance.weebly.com/ The Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition is a diverse group of concerned Gwinnett residents with strong African American leadership who have come together with a shared purpose — to memorialize local victims of racial terror lynchings and to acknowledge, remember, and educate the community about the county’s violent and racist past.