Murders unite races

    On July 25, 1946, two young black couples, George and Mae Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcolm, were shot hundreds of times by 12 to 15 unmasked white men in broad daylight at the Moore’s Ford Bridge, which is 60 miles east of Atlanta, according to the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee Web site.
     In August 1997, a large group of black and white Georgians formed the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee to commemorate the Dorseys and the Malcolms. The committee is dedicated to telling the story, honoring the dead, promoting racial healing and social justice, and creating a living memorial to the victims of the horrible crime.
    Members of the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee visited GCSU for ‘Know Justice, Know Peace’, coordinated by Stephanie McClure and Sandra Godwin, both professors of government and sociology, on April 3 at 7 p.m. in Arts & Sciences Auditorium.
    “I wanted to bring people from off-campus whose authentic experience is much bigger,” McClure said.
    Members of the panel included Janice Rusk, Lynn Camp, Chris Culbreath, Robert Howard and Richard Rusk.
    McClure asked the panelists questions ranging from how they become involved with Moore’s Ford Committee to other activism experience.
    “(After the murders), I grew up in a household where every time my parents had guests and lynching came up,” said Camp, when asked how she came to work with the committee. “I had a lot of questions in my mind. When I learned (about the project), I wanted to be part of it. Wanted to know why these things happened and why we (society) tolerated such atrocities.”
    McClure has worked with Moore’s Ford since 2000 when she first moved to Georgia. She said she is glad that she is able to work with them
    “(These) people have a lot to teach us,” McClure said. “They have been such a blessing to me.”
    Leah Peters, a senior mathematics major, said she enjoyed the program, and it was informative.
    “I didn’t know about Moore’s Ford,” Peters said. “I liked the discussions and questions. (It makes) me want to do something.”
    McClure said she wanted students to understand they could make changes in society.
    “(Like Robert Howard said,) evil people prevail because good people refuse to stand,” McClure said. “That’s what I’d like- speak up and maybe you won’t succeed…but you will respect yourself, and people will respect you.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 13 2007. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry