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House Resolution 1406 By: Representatives Evans of the 83rd, Nguyen of the 89th, Mitchell of the 88th, Davis of the 87th, Holcomb of the 81st, and others

A RESOLUTION

1 Memorializing the four known victims of in DeKalb County, Georgia, and honoring 2 the work of the Remembrance Project Initiative of the NAACP DeKalb branch, which seeks 3 to recognize and memorialize incidents of racial terrorism perpetrated throughout the United 4 States and in DeKalb County; and for other purposes.

5 WHEREAS, between 1877 and 1950, racial terror of African Americans by white 6 mobs in DeKalb County created a climate and legacy of violence and injustice that has not 7 been previously acknowledged in DeKalb County; and

8 WHEREAS, on July 26, 1867, a black man named Reuben Hudson Jr. was riding on a 9 Georgia Railroad train when a conductor claimed that he resembled a man accused of 10 assaulting a white woman in Redan. The conductor turned Mr. Hudson over to local officers. 11 He was forced to go to Redan the next day, denied a trial, seized by a mob of 100 white men, 12 and hanged from a tree; and

13 WHEREAS, on April 3, 1892, two unknown black men disappeared near Lithonia after they 14 were accused of assaulting a white girl and were pursued by a mob. Newspaper coverage was 15 wide but sparse and did not include their names. The newspapers reported that when the mob 16 returned without the men, it was "generally understood that they were lynched"; and

17 WHEREAS, on the night of August 21, 1945, Porter Flournoy Turner was operating a 18 white-owned passenger cab. On the morning of August 22, his body was discovered on the 19 lawn of a physician's home in Druid Hills. He had been stabbed repeatedly in the chest and 20 back. His cab was found abandoned on the curb across the street; and

21 WHEREAS, Mr. Turner's death was classified as an unsolved homicide until June 1946 22 when it was announced that informants working with the Attorney General of the State of 23 Georgia had witnessed members of the Klavalier Klub, the strong arm of the 24 tasked with terroristic raids, boasting of the killing during a covert meeting. No one was ever

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25 arrested for the lynching of Porter Turner, Mr. Hudson, nor the two unnamed Lithonia 26 victims; and

27 WHEREAS, each of these racially motivated murders terrorized the black community, and 28 the perpetrators of these lawless acts were not held accountable. Memorializing these known 29 and unknown victims reminds us to remain persistent and diligent in the pursuit of justice for 30 all; and

31 WHEREAS, on January 22, 2019, the DeKalb County Commissioners unanimously 32 approved two Equal Justice Initiative Historical Markers and a memorial, sponsored by the 33 NAACP DeKalb Remembrance Project, to contextualize lynchings in DeKalb County; and

34 WHEREAS, the NAACP DeKalb Remembrance Project is informed by the work of the 35 Equal Justice Initiative, headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, which in April 2018 36 opened its National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum: From 37 Enslavement to Mass Incarceration in Montgomery; and

38 WHEREAS, the historical markers will be placed outside of the DeKalb County Courthouse, 39 in the Druid Hills neighborhood, and in the downtown area in the City of Lithonia. The 40 memorial outside of the DeKalb County Courthouse also includes a metal coffin-shaped 41 module bearing the names of the victims; and

42 WHEREAS, in Lithonia, Redan, and Druid Hills, soil has been collected from sites 43 associated with the lynchings and placed in jars at ceremonies honoring the victims and their 44 families. A jar of soil connected with each victim will be given to Equal Justice Initiative so 45 that it may be displayed in their Legacy Museum. Additional jars of soil connected with each 46 victim will be permanently housed in the DeKalb History Center in downtown Decatur, 47 Georgia; and

48 WHEREAS, along with the unveiling ceremony in March, scholarships and monetary prizes 49 will be awarded to winners of the essay contests and an art contest in DeKalb County high 50 schools and colleges.

51 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that 52 the members of this body memorialize the four known victims of lynching in DeKalb 53 County, Georgia, and honor the work of the Remembrance Project Initiative of the NAACP 54 DeKalb branch.

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55 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized 56 and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the 57 NAACP DeKalb branch.

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