Tag: Lynching of Charlotte Harris
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New historical marker on Court Square tells story of Charlotte Harris’ lynching
Law enforcement dragged Charlotte Harris from a friend’s home in Albemarle County in March of 1878. They took her back to Rockingham County to face a preliminary hearing, resulting in an order she be taken to the county jail in Harrisonburg. Because that was 15 miles distant, they decided to wait until morning.
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Forum participants call for state to acknowledge — and teach about — lynchings in Virginia
Members of the Charlotte Harris community remembrance project, which seeks to memorialize the African American woman who was lynched in Harrisonburg in 1878, joined forces Monday with a statewide commission to place a brighter spotlight on Virginia’s dark history of racism and lynching.
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Organizers of effort to memorialize the victim of a local lynching set their sights on Court Square
Charlotte Harris was in the custody of local law enforcement in Rockingham County on March 6, 1878, when a mob seized her and hung her from a tree – the only documented lynching of an African-American woman in Virginia’s history. The next month, a grand jury in Harrisonburg ended its investigation of the murder without returning any indictments. Judge Charles T. O’Ferrall, who oversaw that investigation, went on to become governor in the 1890s.
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Tour reveals truths about historic racism, as well as African Americans’ achievements in Harrisonburg
Stories of black excellence and the description of a community that persevered over and over against the injustices of racism are what emerged from the Arc Of Citizenship, a two day event this weekend. The Saturday and Sunday tours and talks were an attempt to reveal truths buried by long-held false historical narratives and forge a stronger understanding of the history of how race relations has affected the Valley.
City leaders back remembrance of Hburg’s lynching victim and discuss criminal justice issues at Tuesday’s meeting
Council members offered support at Tuesday’s meeting to a civic project memorializing Charlotte Harris, a victim of a public lynching in Harrisonburg 141 years ago.
