The Boxser Diversity Initiative, Newtown Alive and The Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition (SAACC), have partnered together with the goal to bring a permanent memorial recognizing lynching victims in the Sarasota, Florida area. This joint organization is called the Sarasota-Manatee Community Remembrance Project.
The website states, “The Manasota Remembrance Project has three components: a historical marker commemorating the six men lynched in Manatee County, a soil collection project, and an eventual placement in Sarasota of a replica of the steel monument as a memorial to the lynching victims.
The placement of the historical marker is the first phase and is scheduled to be located in Newtown on the grounds of the planned African American Art Center and Cultural Museum (Corner of MLK and Orange Avenue).
While the Lynching Marker will commemorate the six victims, it is intended to commemorate all those who have experienced racial terror in this area, in Newtown, Sarasota, Manatee County and elsewhere in Southwest Florida.
The Sarasota & Manatee Community Remembrance Project was conceived with the hope of creating a sober, meaningful site where people can gather and reflect on America’s history of racial inequality.”
For more information on the project, click HERE.