In memory of George Briscoe: Another victim of a Maryland lynching

By Rev. Heber Brown III
Afro
https://afro.com/

To the family of George Briscoe,

I come to you with reflection, humility and intention. I’ve recently learned of your family’s story and now that I know it, I cannot forget it.

On Nov. 26, 1884, an armed group of White men lynched 40-year-old George Briscoe by the Magothy River in Anne Arundel County, Md. The White men beat and hanged him by his neck from a tree until he died. They intentionally left his mangled, dead body swinging from the tree for public display in order to spread terror to others in the Black community and to further reinforce the dominance of White power.

Official records in White-owned media painted George as full of “bravado” — a descriptor weaponized to make his death seem deserved. George was killed because of accusations without due process, a tactic that haunts our people even today.

There was no urgency in informing George’s wife and family that he had been lynched. They expected his family to accept this injustice and internalize the pain.

But George is part of a cloud of witnesses — Black women, men and children whose lives offer testimony to what the state of Maryland failed to protect. He was a human, a husband, a community member and a child of God.

The tragedy of George’s lynching happened just a few miles from the Governor’s Mansion in Annapolis — currently occupied by the nation’s only Black governor, Governor Wes Moore. There is a cruel irony that George’s heinous murder happened just 17 miles from the seat of state power.

Justice for George and healing for his family requires concrete action in the form of reparations. We can celebrate the ascension of a Black man to the governorship while simultaneously insisting that celebration not eclipse our collective responsibility to repair the harm done to our ancestors and their families.

I was thankful to hear that after Governor Moore’s veto of the reparations bill was overridden, he said, “I am eager to move forward in partnership on the work of repair that we all agree is an urgent and pressing need.” It is good news for our state that now the Governor is on board with the Legislative Black Caucus, public policy groups like Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, other activists, organizers, clergy and citizens who all agree that efforts toward reparations in this state should proceed in concrete ways.

George Briscoe’s story is just another reason as to why we must continue in this marathon for justice.  Brother George deserves justice, his family deserves repair and our community needs healing. Let’s have the courage to march on until victory is won!

In witness and remembrance,

Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.