The Equal Justice (EJI) Initiative has released an extraordinary report titled “Reconstruction In America” which reveals an additional 2,000 documented lynchings since the end of the Civil War. That brings total number of documented lynchings in America to nearly 6,500 over a period from 1865 to 1950.

Florida was among the worst perpetrators of racial terror during those years and in fact had the highest rate of lynchings per capita of any state in the nation. In the Tampa Bay Region, there were 60 lynchings.

Efforts are now under way in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties to erect memorials, in partnership with EJI, to the victims of racial terror lynchings. You can learn more here: https://pinellasremembers.org. If you know of any efforts to honor lynching victims in Hernando, Pasco, Citrus, Manatee or Polk Counties, please let us know.

Truthshine wants to change the way history is taught in Tampa Bay to be a more honest reflection of our white supremacist past and how the trauma of racial terror continues to be felt in our communities today. This EJI report is a good place to start. It’s time to replace white nostalgia with the true history. Please watch this video and read the report