SALISBURY, Md.- The Salisbury City Council said it would draft it's own apology to the descendants of Mathew Williams for his lynching back in 1931. Calls for the city to apologize were ignited when the city moved its government offices to the old firehouse.
Local activists say the mob that lynched Mathew William got a rope from the firehouse.
The Wicomico County NAACP and the Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative drafted a resolution for the city to adopt. The resolution was a formal apology from the city to the decedents of lynching victims Mathew Williams and Garfield King. The council did not adopt the resolution.
Instead, council president April Jackson said the council would draft it's own apology because adopting a pre-written apology by and outside party was not 'sincere'.
In a joint statement from the Wicomico County NAACP and the Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative to WBOC, the groups said,
"We are glad that the city wants to work with us and with the descendants of Garfield King and Matthew Williams towards an apology from the city, not only to them but also to the larger Black community of Salisbury. We hope that they use the draft resolution that was submitted to the council as a guide, and we look forward to participating in any discussion that holds institutions accountable and which embody the spirit of justice.”