Congressman Cohen Introduces the Evaluating Lynching Locations for National Park Sites Act

Memphis

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, today introduced the Evaluating Lynching Locations for National Park Sites Act, which directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service, to evaluate lynching sites within approximately 100 miles of Memphis, Tennessee, for potential inclusion in the National Park System.

One such site is where Ell Persons was beaten into confessing to the killing of a white girl in 1917, taken from his jail cell, and then burned, decapitated and dismembered in front of an estimated crowd of 3,000 people who congregated on Macon Road near the Wolf River in Memphis.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"Unfortunately, there are many examples of lynching violence in our country's history. Including these sites as part of our National Park System is an important step to remember the victims and to learn from the past so that it is never repeated."

Rich Watkins, Board President of the Lynching Sites Project of Memphis, endorsed the legislation saying, "We believe the report that will come from this Act will help our region openly face its history of racial violence so that we can heal and grow."

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