Memorial Service for Lynching Victims of Alachua County

In this video, journalist Voleer Thomas interviewed Alachua County commissioner Charles “Chuck” Chestnut IV on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 about the memorial service for lynching victims that was set to happen the following day.
Chestnut explained why the service was created and the future plans the county has in store regarding its Truth and Reconciliation process which recalls the county’s history of racial injustice and repair what they can.
Following the interview, is the memorial service that happened at Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church in Gainesville on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 where hundreds of people attended.
During the candlelight ceremony, some members of the community performed “Hell You Talmbout” where someone yells out a name of a victim of racial injustice while singing the words ’The hell you talmbout.’ A group sang the the lyrics as one member of the group yelled out the names of lynching victims. Alachua County found 46 documented lynching victims in the county. The Alachua County Historical Commission (ACHC) will continue the research which was inspired by the Equal Justice Initiative’s (EJI) lynching research. EJI is a non-profit organization in Montgomery, AL that seeks to end racial inequality.
The ceremony had a drum call libation, the choir singing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” and Alachua County’s poet laureate, E. Stanley Richardson, reading a poem honoring and recognizing the lives lost to lynching. Chestnut gave the closing remarks during the service.
The county invites the community to attend a workshop to discuss plans to erect historical markers to commemorate the lives lost to lynching. The community workshop will be held on Monday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Senior Recreation Center located at 5701 NW 34th Blvd. in Gainesville.