On Saturday in Pittsboro, dozens of people gathered in the old agricultural building for the dedication of a historical marker. The marker commemorates the six known victims of lynching in Chatham County between 1885 and 1921.
The robust program included poetry, speakers, dance performances, music and more. The speakers included a wide range of local leaders. Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson opened the event, saying, “I encourage all of you to be part of the ongoing improvement of our future together. We cannot have reconciliation without justice. We cannot have justice without truth. We cannot have truth without trust.”
Pittsboro Mayor Cindy Perry welcomed the large crowd, saying, “On behalf of the Town of Pittsboro, I would like to welcome you. And I think your presence here speaks volumes.”
And Congressman David Price spoke to the importance of the event. He said, “Our country has not found it easy to do what Chatham County has done. It’s a recognition of atrocities committed by and upon our ancestors. Deep and indelible stains on our history. It also fortifies our determination to work for a better history. A better future.”
Retired Superior Court Judge Carl Fox further touched on the importance of such remembrances: “People talk about reparations in monetary terms a lot. But you know, reparations are not always about money. To read about an apology is reparation. To dedicate a monument to the lives of victims of lynching is a form of reparations.”
Also among the speakers were state Senator Valerie Foushee, and Judge Christopher Todd Roper. But perhaps the most impactful words of the day came from Mr. Cameron Sanders, the great-great-great-nephew of Eugene Daniel, one of the victims, who read a letter to his relative.
“Dear Uncle Eugene,” he began, “My name is Cameron Wesley Sanders, and I am your great-great-great-nephew. My great great grandmother is your older sister. And I am the great-grandson of her sixth born son Maynard. I called him Pop-pop. Unfortunately, you did not get to meet him because he was born in 1923, two years after you were lynched by neighbors in our community.”
Cameron Sanders, a descedent of one of the racial lynching victims, poses with the remembrance plaque installed on September 17, 2022.
The Woods Charter School Choir led the crowd outside in front of the Chatham Justice Center where the Community Remembrance Coalition of Chatham Co-Coordinator Bob Pearson spoke before the unveiling of the marker. And Chair of the Chatham County Commissioners Karen Howard was there to accept: “I humbly and graciously accept this marker on behalf of all of the citizens of Chatham County.”
The historical marker commemorating the lives of Jerry Finch, Harriet Finch, John Pattishall, Lee Tyson, Henry Jones, and Eugene Daniel was created through a partnership between The Community Remembrance Coalition of Chatham and the Equal Justice Initiative. The groups publicly memorialized the lynching victims earlier this year as part of an initial step toward installing the plaque.
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