David Olawuyi Fakunle, Ph.D., Chair (chosen by Commission)
Appointed by Governor: Charles L. Chavis, Jr., Ph.D.; Omar Eaton-Martinez; Kirkland J. Hall, Sr., Ph.D.; one vacancy.
Appointed by President, Bowie State University: Roger A. Davidson, Jr., Ph.D.
Appointed by President, Coppin State University: Teisha Dupree Wilson, PhD.
Appointed by President, Morgan State University: Simone R. Barrett, Ph.D.
Appointed by President, University of Maryland Eastern Shore: Marshall F. Stevenson, Jr., Ph.D.
Ex officio: Christopher E. Haley, designee of State Archivist; Elizabeth A. Hughes, Director, Maryland Historical Trust; Maya D. Davis, designee of Chair, Commission on African-American History & Culture; Gary C. Norman, Esq., Chair, Commission on Civil Rights; Izetta Autumn Mobley, Ph.D., designee of Executive Director, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African-American History & Culture; Iris Leigh Barnes, Ph.D., designee of Director, Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum; David Armenti, designee of President, Maryland Center for History & Culture; Nicholas Creary, Ph.D., President, Maryland Lynching Memorial Project; Carl Snowden, designee of President, Maryland State Conference, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; David Fakunle, Ph.D., designee of President, National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.
![[photo, St. Paul Plaza, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/08conoff/attorney/images/1198-1-2125b.jpg)
Staff: Zenita Wickham Hurley, Esq., e-mail: zhurley@oag.state.md.us
Staff: Sonya Osei
c/o Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, Bowie State University
14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, MD 20715 - 9465
(301) 860-1400
St. Paul Plaza, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
In June 2019, the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission was authorized by the General Assembly (Chapter 41, Acts of 2019).
Lynching is the extralegal murder of an individual in an act of mob violence. Between 1854 and 1933, at least 40 African Americans were lynched by white mobs in Maryland. No one ever has been tried, convicted, or otherwise brought to justice for participating in these lynchings in Maryland.
In those areas of the State where a documented lynching of an African-American by a white mob has occurred, the Commission is to hold regional hearings. Recommendations from the public for addressing, engaging, and reconciling communities where racially motivated lynchings occurred will be accepted by the Commission. Further, the Commission may research any undocumented lynchings brought to its attention, and also the role of State and local governments and the media in racially motivated lynchings.
In October 2020, the Commission received a U.S. Department of Justice grant to research and address the legacy of unsolved lynchings that occurred in Maryland. The grant will be used to support the Commission’s project: Justice in the Aftermath: Documenting the Truth of Racial Terror Lynching in Maryland to Support Restorative Justice Among Affected Communities.
For restorative justice, the Commission will make recommendations that address the legacy of lynching.
The Commission consists of seventeen members. Of these, four are appointed by the Governor, and one each by the Bowie State University President, the Coppin State University President, the Morgan State University President, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore President. Nine serve ex officio.
Authorization for the Commission ends June 30, 2024 (Chapter 92, Acts of 2021).
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