Seventy-six years ago a mob in LaGrange killed a young man named Austin Callaway. Six men removed him from the city jail, shot him repeatedly and left him to die on a rural road.
The police and city never sought justice.
Rev. L.W. Strickland, Pastor of Warren Temple Methodist Church, said, “They have settled the matter by ignoring it.”
On January 26, 2017, city and police officials in LaGrange ignored it no longer. They made history by making a public apology for this act of brutality.
On March 18, the community will join together again--to pray, reflect and remember a tragic past. Faith leaders from across the community will lead a prayer service, recognizing and mourning Callaway and three other African American men as victims of lynching in Troup County's history.
Austin Callaway was just one of nearly six hundred documented victims of racial terror lynching in Georgia between 1877 and 1950. Few of these lynchings have been memorialized in public markers, though. LaGrange will become one of the first communities in the state to acknowledge this bloody history with a permanent marker. It will be unveiled at the end of the service. The marker will also celebrate the courage of Reverend Strickland, who prophetically called for justice when others were silent.
Please attend this historic service.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
1:00 PM
Warren Temple United Methodist Church
416 East Depot Street
LaGrange, Georgia
A prayer vigil naming all 600 confirmed victims of lynching in Georgia is also planned. It will be held at Southview Cemetery on Edgewood Avenue in LaGrange, beginning at 7:00 AM on Sunday, March 19. All welcome.
If your ministry serves Medicaid/PeachCare for Kids, the Dept. of Human Services has a message and materials for you.
email ecarter@rccatl.org
2715 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, saddened by the all-too-frequent occurrences of gun violence in the U.S., invites you on a journey of prayer, scripture, stories, and church teachings with this resource, A 60-Day Journey Towards Justice in a Culture of Gun Violence - an ELCA Resource Through daily observances, it calls us to work toward the prevention of gun violence as people of God who strive for justice and peace in all the world. It may be used for individual reflection, group Bible study, adult education sessions, and congregational daily devotions. This began on June 16 but can be used at any time.
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