By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) has released its final report, outlining 84 recommendations for the state to reckon with its enduring legacy of racial terror lynchings and marking the culmination of six years of research and public hearings. The commission hosted a virtual briefing on the report—released last December— on Jan. 14.
The 630-page document is divided into two parts. In the first part, the commission documents the history and geography of racial terror lynchings and details the lives and deaths of 38 Black Marylanders who were lynched between 1854 and 1933. In the second, it proposes recommendations for repair, accountability and reconciliation.
“One of the first findings that we highlighted and documented in the course of our research was that racial terror lynchings overall occurred in violation of due process. In every documented case, the victim was denied due process under the law,” said Charles Chavis, vice chair of MLTRC. “Many victims were removed directly from jails or court custody. They were lynched while awaiting trial or appeal. Accusations were unsupported, uninvestigated and based on rumor. Lynchings functioned as extra-judicial executions—not spontaneous acts.”
Following that initial finding, the commission concluded that racial terror lynchings in Maryland were enabled by state actors. According to the report, law enforcement officers, jailers, judges and other officials effectively sanctioned mob violence by failing to intervene or by actively participating in lynchings in some cases.
The commission also found that lynchings were used as a tool of political and social control to suppress Black voting, land ownership and economic advancement, and that White-owned media played an active role in justifying lynchings through sensationalized coverage that excluded Black voices. Over time, according to the report, lynching was systemically excluded from official records and public memory–compounding the harm done and allowing its legacy to persist.
“Lastly, enduring harm persists today. The legacy of racial terror lynching includes a deep mistrust of local legal and government systems and intergenerational trauma in Black communities,” said Chavis. “Structural inequalities also remain visible to this day. These harms are ongoing. They are not historical abstractions.”
The MLTRC’s recommendations for reconciliation spanned nine categories, including material reparations, criminal justice, community healing, education, mental health and the media. The proposals call on the state to formally acknowledge its role through an official apology; strengthen due process protections and accountability within the criminal justice system; and invest in community healing, education and mental health resources in places where racial terror lynchings occurred.
Other recommendations urge reforms in media practices; broader public education on the history of lynching in Maryland; symbolic measures such as memorials and posthumous indictments and the creation of a permanent state body to oversee implementation and ensure transparency.
Perhaps the most anticipated proposal is the commission’s recommendation that Maryland provide material compensation to the families of lynching victims. Reparations have been a highly contested issue across the country. Last May, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore vetoed a bill that sought to create a state commission that would study reparations. By December, the Maryland General Assembly had overridden that veto.
MLTRC commissioners emphasized that material compensation is not merely a cash payment, but could include poverty reduction plans and targeted investments in communities where lynchings took place to support Black businesses and long-term economic empowerment.
They also said that they have not yet received any response from the governor or his office regarding the final report, but are working with MLTRC state lawmakers to draft legislation that could be introduced— and potentially acted on— during the current legislative session.
“We recognize that the totality of our recommendations will take time. We recognize the importance of patience, especially given the context of time in which we are doing this work,” said Dr. David Fakunle, chair of the MLTRC. “We are actively in the process of nurturing relationships that will allow for the best implementation of recommendations as possible.”
