Historical Marker Ceremony
Historical Marker Ceremony, September 10, 2021
On September 10, 1912, a crowd of over 1,000 people gathered in the downtown square of Cumming, GA to lynch a young Black man named Rob Edwards. Mr. Edwards was accused of the murder of a young white woman named Mae Crow. Mr. Edwards was never afforded a trial, his lynching another example of extrajudicial killing and racial terror that was prevalent in the Jim Crow Era, for which no one was ever arrested or held accountable.
In January 2021, the Community Remembrance Project of Forsyth County (CRPFC) installed a historical marker in downtown Cumming, GA to document this lynching. CRPFC worked with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and the Historical Society of Cumming/Forsyth County and achieved unanimous approval for the installation of the marker by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.
On September 10th, 2021 we again filled the Cumming square, but this time with a crowd for the dedication of the marker in remembrance of this event. The marker is currently installed at East Courthouse Square and West Maple Street in congregation with other historical markers, plaques, and statues relevant to Forsyth County.
EJI's Bryan Stevenson on the historical marker:
"I remember January 1987 when bloody, racially motivated violence against Hosea Williams and other civil rights activists happened in Forsyth County. I was part of the movement that brought thousands of people back a few weeks later with hope of racial justice. Today, community organizers have achieved something remarkable in the life of this community. This marker is a symbol of what can happen when we decide to commit to truth and justice and have the courage to confront our past to make a better future."