Matthew Williams Memorial

The memorial for Matthew Williams installed in downtown Salisbury in 2021. 

SALISBURY, Md. -- There is a new vision to understand and heal from past racism in Wicomico County. It is from multiple county organizations who feel City of Salisbury officials have not done enough. 

The Wicomico NAACP, Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative and Maryland Lynching Commission would like to see the city ramp up its efforts. Frustrations for those groups stem from 2022, when the city said they would form an advisory committee to look at the city's racist past and figure out the best ways to move forward. 

Well, that committee has not been fully formed and a single meeting is yet to be held. The unfulfilled promise is why Monica Brooks, President of the Wicomico NAACP, said the city has dragged their feet after installing a memorial for Matthew Williams back in 2021. 

Williams was lynched in Salisbury in 1931. 

"We believe that the process has taken way too long, there seems to be some traction that was starting to happen but it's been tabled for a very long time," said Brooks. 

It is a message echoed by James Yamakawa, founder of the Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative. 

"It took almost a year for that TRUTH Committee to even be announced and then after that it kind of sat and languished for about equally as long," said Yamakawa. 

The traction Brooks is referring to, and the TRUTH Committee Yamakawa mentioned, is the Truth, Racial Unity, Transformation and Healing Advisory Committee. The groups purpose would be to recognize the city's racist past and advise city officials on how to heal those wounds. 

A year later, the committee is yet to have its first meeting. The City of Salisbury did provide WBOC with a statement:

"The City of Salisbury has read the joint press release from Monica Brooks (President of the NAACP), James Yamakawa (Founder of Wicomico Truth and Reconciliation Initiative and TRUTH Committee member) and Dr. Charles Chavis (Commissioner of the Maryland Lynching Commission) and look forward to rectifying any miscommunications. The TRUTH Committee is a resident advisory board that needs 7 members to have a quorum and begin official meetings; a total of 5 individuals have applied and been appointed to the committee thus far. These boards and committees have the responsibility of reaching out to various community members and interested parties to join the boards and we are excited to be so close to having enough seats filled on the TRUTH Committee for them to start meeting. This board brings the opportunity to advise the Mayor on steps forward and for community healing to begin. 

The City is actively reaching out to current members of the TRUTH Committee to encourage an informal meeting to collaborate on a membership campaign. The City is willing to look at past leadership, historical situations, and previous decisions with a critical eye and begin the reconciliation process but the appropriate space for the advisory of that is on the TRUTH committee. The Mayor’s Office feels strongly that this is a valuable conversation and is looking forward to working with the TRUTH Committee. If any NAACP members or individuals would like to join the TRUTH (Truth, Racial, Unity, Transformation, Healing) Committee and be a part of this transformation please visit our board and committee page on our website to apply to join this or any of our resident boards."
 
Regardless, the Wicomico County NAACP, Truth and Reconciliation Committee and Maryland Lynching Commission plan to hold town halls starting this fall. 
 
"What we're going to do is presenting the information, as new stuff comes out we're going to present that, make sure people understand the history," said Yamakawa. "The conversation will be guided from there." 
 
Yamakawa and Brooks talked about several instances in Salisbury's past, arguably the biggest being the lynching of Matthew Williams in 1931. Then Salisbury Police Chief Nicholas H. Holland helped to abduct Williams from the negro ward of Peninsula General Hospital. 
 
Frederick Grier Jr., the City of Salisbury Fire Chief at the time, provided the rope used to lynch Williams. The press release from Yamakawa, Brooks and Chavis Jr. went on to highlight other county and state-level officials involved. 
 
It included Wicomico sheriff G. Murray Phillips, who helped lead the mob and State's Attorney Levin C. Bailey, who leaked grand jury testimony to members of the mob. 
 
While all of those involved are no longer alive, Yamakawa said an apology from those who are a part of those institutions is still important. 
 
"Yes, no one alive today was alive back then, but you're institution inherits that legacy, and honestly we can say those feelings and the culture behind the incident still perpetuates today," said Yamakawa. "So yes, an apology is the first step but then the community needs to learn, feel comfortable speaking out and guide policy change."