Hello friends…
As we all come to the end of another year, I am as usual reflecting upon the next year ahead. There is much to be excited about, and there is also much work to still do. Our nonprofit has only just begun (literally and figuratively) in our efforts to uncover and document the accurate local history of the county so that we can all better understand the climate and culture in which our county’s lynching (and near lynching) victims (and their descendants) lived. One of our biggest achievements in 2022 was our nonprofit’s sponsorship of the research effort that led to the discovery of a pre Civil War Black community in Ellicott City. A 200+ page book has been made with the findings, and those findings are the tip of the iceberg of additional material calculated to ensure that accurate local history is told and consumed by our visitors, residents and students.
It is my hope that those who enjoy our work will consider donating to our nonprofit by purchasing a book for themselves or others through our book fundraiser. The details of that fundraiser can be found be clicking the link below. It’s my hope that a new standard of research will be created in our county so that accurate history can be consumed by our visitors and residents. History evolves when new materials are discovered to augment it, but history also evolves when primary source documents are excavated to create products and presentations for consumption. Reconciliation for a community cannot happen until the truth is first known. Actually and to be honest, reconciliation can be done without the truth being known. It’s just not the way I wish to be involved in doing it for the place I love. Hopefully, a majority of the people feel the way I do. Marlena