The Alachua County Community Remembrance Project committee (ACCRP), the Alachua County Commission, and the UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, with support from the Rothman Fund, invite the community to the unveiling of the “Soil Collection Jar Exhibit Honoring Victims of Lynching.”
The event is on Saturday, June 1, 2024, from 1 to 3 p.m. on the west lawn of the Alachua County Administration Building (12 SE 1st St., in downtown Gainesville). It is free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to participate in this significant act of remembrance and reconciliation. Tents will be provided for shade, and seating will be available for the public.
The County Commission has dedicated space on the ground floor of the county building for this poignant exhibit on racial violence. Each jar contains soil collected at known sites where lynchings took place.
This exhibit is part of the ongoing effort to confront and understand the history of racial violence in Florida, a state with the highest rate of lynchings per capita between 1882 and 1930. The Soil Collection Jar Exhibit shines a light on this painful history and addresses the legacy of racial inequity that persists today.
The unveiling program includes:
- A prayer by Reverend John E. Brown of St. Paul AME Church, Gainesville
- Queen Mother Vivian Filer will give permission to start
- A libation ceremony by Dr. Sowa-La and Nii Sowa-La
- Welcome address from Alachua County Commissioner Charles S. Chestnut IV
- Dr. Kenneth Nunn will speak on Dr. Hilliard-Nunn’s significant contributions to the ACCRP
- E. Stanley Richardson will perform a spoken word piece
- A dance performance by Ms. Water’s Expressive Song and Dance Ministry
After the program, attendees will be invited to enjoy box lunches from Germain’s and ice treats from Rastafar-Ice while listening to music by Gospel Meets Jazz. The exhibit will be viewed in guided groups of 15 to 20 people.
Read the feature story, Alachua County’s Journey to Truth and Reconciliation.
For more information, contact Deputy County Manager Carl Smart with the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project at 352-374-5204 or truth@alachuacounty.us.
