Delaware student's quest to memorialize a lynching is inspiring (opinion)

Rhonda Bryant is a national advocate for racial equity. Howard Stevenson is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. They lead an initiative called Forward Promise, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

On June 23, a historical marker will be dedicated in Prices Corner, Delaware, to memorialize the lynching of George White in 1903.

This long-overdue dedication, sponsored by the Delaware Legislative Black Caucus, Delaware Public Archives, Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition, and Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), was sparked by the passion and actions of a young person.

Savannah Shepherd, a junior at Sanford High School, attended the opening of the National Memorial on Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.

EJI spent years researching lynching victims across the United States, then erected the memorial to create a space to honor victims and their survivors — and to tell the truth about America’s legacy of genocide, slavery, lynching, and racial segregation. The organization’s hope was that memorializing this history would start a meaningful dialogue, build understanding, and spark healing.

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Savannah was deeply moved by her experience and sought to learn more about the history of lynching in her home state. In the process, she discovered a lynching that happened in 1903 in Odessa.

Upon her return home, Savannah looked up the George White lynching and read up on the history of racial tensions in Delaware.

Savannah then founded the Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition and advocated to have her state acknowledge the historical dehumanization of lynching within its borders by erecting a memorializing marker at the site.

Savannah completed the application process with Delaware Public Archives and provided evidence of the lynching and its impact on the state. The Delaware Public Archives and the General Assembly approved the move. State Sen. Darius Brown funded the marker using his community transportation funds.

Across the United States, young people like Savannah are speaking out against injustice and disrupting dehumanization in their communities that are keeping everyone from being their best selves and living their healthiest lives. 

Naomi Wadler, at just 11 years old, stood before America and gave a rousing call to action at March for Our Lives that has helped to fuel gun reform. 

Marley Dias, at age 10, spoke out against lack of representation in publishing and created the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. 

Grace Dolan-Sandrino, an 8th grader, took a stand as a trans young person to live her truth. Now a high school student, Grace is a national advocate for trans youth of color and helped create the federal rules protecting trans students from discrimination. 

Each of these activists seeks to bring transformation so desperately needed for their communities – and they’re succeeding. They’re honoring the past, re-creating the narrative about people of color, challenging oppressive systems, and creating safe spaces for young people of color to grow and thrive. 

Some will say that Savannah’s work to get the marker erected is symbolic and won’t lead to significant racial reconciliation in Delaware. Say that to the descendants of George White, who now have a piece of their family history restored and honored, or to the families living in the Prices Corner community who a new piece of local history.

Or say that to Savannah, for whom seeing markers in Montgomery honoring over 4,400 black people who had been lynched ignited a flame in her to learn and do more. 

Savannah now plans to work with the Delaware Historical Society to uncover more stories like George White’s and share what she learns with other young people so they feel inspired to act against injustice. 

Because young people, like Savannah, see the world from different lenses, and passions, they bring truths that too many of us are often blind to, or afraid to face. They not only bear the burden of our decisions, but they are too often the most vulnerable victims.

When they speak, they call all of us to wake up, to see, and then to act.

These historical moments are catalytic for us as a nation to understand our past and plan together in the present. The conversations sparked by acknowledging the dark past of lynching and genocide are not just a re-hashing of tragedy. They are opportunities for teaching the next generation how to make things right, to create a brighter tomorrow, and most of all, to heal.