Our Story
Our Mission
The mission of the Community Remembrance Project of Forsyth County is to counteract racism through education about race and justice.
Our Formation
The Community Remembrance Project of Forsyth County (CRPFC), founded in 2017, is a local, non-partisan group that creates platforms for conversations about racial injustice and long-term change in our community. Its members include teachers, librarians, engineers, retail workers, historians, faith leaders, students, business owners, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, all with ties to Forsyth County.
CRPFC began with a very small group of residents meeting in a local church to discuss Forsyth County’s history, how that history has shaped the county over the last century, and what could be done to help mend that history.
As the group began to grow, CRPFC invited the Historical Society of Cumming/Forsyth County to attend the regular, monthly meetings. In 2018, CRPFC cultivated a formal partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). In January of 2019, CRPFC held a soil collection ceremony at the site of the 1912 lynching of Rob Edwards. Two jars of soil were collected, one of which is now part of the display at EJI’s Legacy Museum in Montgomery, AL. The second is here in Forsyth County at the Historical Society.
In 2020, THE CRPFC met with Forsyth County Commissioners with a plan to place a historical marker in downtown Cumming to accurately document the events of 1912. The work done ultimately lead to unanimous approval by the Commissioners. The marker was placed on January 22, 2021, with a formal dedication for the 109th anniversary of the lynching of Rob Edwards on September 10, 2021.
As CRPFC has evolved, the focus of its goals has become clear: education. CRPFC is committed to constructively changing Forsyth County’s reputation by helping to educate its residents at all levels, in as many formats as possible, and in conjunction with local organizations. Everyone is needed to make lasting change.