Was My Great-Great Grandfather Lynched?
Montgomery, Alabama July 2023
“The wind brings everything. Nothing is lost.”
I’ve wanted to visit The Legacy Museum since I began the Genealogy project , as I’ve always knew it would be inspiring for my work. Finally this month, I flew back to my hometown Memphis from California and carved out 2 days to drive south to Alabama.
The museum is beautifully curated with everything from hologram replicas of enslaved folks singing negro spirituals to incarcerated people telling their captivating stories of unfair treatment in America’s prisons. The balance of videos, photographs, music and sculptures telling the stories of the history of lynching to mass incarceration sent chills down my spine with every step.
I’ve visited hundreds of museums around the world, but there was a special feeling I had while walking through this that I would describe as peaceful anxiety. It was an emotion that made sense as I continued my visit. After finishing the museum, I took a shuttle to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice where I approached 800 6 foot sculptures with the names of racial lynching victims. The emotional peaceful anxiety feeling heightened as I moved through the site as I kept seeing the names of individuals who were lynched on my birthday; 11:22. Now, I believe that my angels speak to me through numbers and animals. Anytime I see my birthday repeatedly, it’s always a sign for me to pay attention!
I took my time carefully reading the names and counties making sure not to miss anything. The sculptures reminded me of coffins in an oddly beautiful way hanging above my head as the sun slightly peaked through each piece. I thought what if I come across the name of my great great grandfather? He was a fruit farmer, and disappeared somewhere between 1870-the early 1900s. But I never came across his county and we have no idea if he stayed in town, or moved to another city or state after that incident.
As I began to wrap up my visit, I walked down the last row of sculptures and I came across my family’s home, Yalobusha County. Then I spotted my great great grandfather’s name, Will Jackson. I stood there in silence for what felt like forever questioning if I’m really seeing this right. He went by William, I thought so maybe it’s not him? But what are the odds of running across a Will Jackson, a man who disappeared from his family in this same county around the same time? Now those emotions I felt early on made sense. I called my cousin Alvin, who’s our family’s historian, and we both agreed that it could be our ancestor who was lynched on July 7, 1902. I’m going to reach out to the museum’s research team to confirm, but either way I was led to this place to put together another puzzle piece for my family’s legacy.
I also encourage you to ask questions, document, and preserve your family’s history as best you can. If it weren’t for my family documented and passing on stories and history, I would’ve walked right past the name and county without a clue. I will keep you all updated and posted on what happens next. We weren’t allowed to take photos, so I don’t have footage inside the actual museum. But here are a few photos from the memorial.
