The Work of the Mary Turner Project

The Mary Turner Project is a diverse, grassroots collective of Valdosta State University students, faculty, and local community members who are committed to racial justice. That commitment involves educating ourselves and others about the presence of racism, the multiple forms of racism, and the effects of racism, so that we may become involved in eliminating racism. The group meets bi-monthly and has a number of projects in the works. Some of those projects include the following.

• Funding raising and community organizing for the installation of the Mary Turner historical marker.



• Researching other instances of racial terrorism in the region.



• Researching the economic implications of lynching and other forms of racial terrorism in the area.



• Researching and community organizing around all forms of racism (i.e. cultural, instituional, individual, environmental) in order to address and elminate each form.



• Networking and sharing information with other similar groups in the state and nation.



• Doing public speaking and public education on racial justice.



• Planning and fundraising for the production of a video documentary on the Mary Turner Story.

Project Accomplishments

• The development of the Mary Turner website that you are now visiting. This site has experienced hundreds of visits and has made the story of Mary Turner and the other victims of 1918 available to the world. The MTP hopes to expand the website in the near future to include digitalized copies of all historical documents related to the Mary Turner story and other lynchings in the region. We are also in the process of adding slides and video from the Mary Turner Comemmortation cermoney held in May of this year.



• The MTP has distributed over 2100 pamphlets throughout the university and the local community chronicling the saga of Mrs. Turner and the events of 1918. Those pamphlets have and continue to be circulated in the Southeast and are now available on the MTP website's homepage. The MTP plans to produce a more detailed publication that that can be used to educate students in local and regional schools about the racial history of the region.



• Members have presented the story of Mary Turner and the work of the MTP at more than 15 regional events.



• The creation of a Facebook group that has been used to both recruit new members and share information about upcoming MTP events. That resource has been a key organizing tool for informing interested parties about MTP related events. Today there are 150 members of the MTP Facebook group. To join that group simply access or set up your Facebook account, search for The Mary Turner Memorial Project, and join.



• Fundraising and the collection of more than $1400 by students. Those funds, in addition to funds raised via the website ($1500 in all), are to be used for the installation of an official Georgia Historical Society marker in the fall of 2009. Additional funds were raised to fund the first, and hopefully annual, Mary Turner remembrance ceremony this past May.



• Students from the MTP presented the Mary Turner story at several public events last year including Valdosta State University's Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) annual State Convention. They, in addition to more than 150 other Valdosta State students, also attended and petitioned the City of Valdosta for the creation of a Mary Turner community park.



• Valdosta State faculty members secured a $1000 university sponsored research grant. Those funds enabled Dr. Tracy Woodard Myers to conduct further research at the Georgia Archives on the Turner family and the potential economic consequences of lynching.



• The MTP successfully petitioned for the installation of a state sponsored historical marker documenting the events of May 1918. The MTP also gained approval from the Georgia Department of Transportation for the installation of that marker. Currently the MTP and the Georgia Historical Society are in the process of negotiating what that marker text will say. The completed marker is planned for installation near the site of Mrs. Turner's murder in the Fall of this year.



• The MTP has compiled and provided historical document packets for descendents of the Turner family. Research was also done and provided to members of the Will Head family. Members of both families reciprocated by sharing the information they had with the MTP in addition to becoming supporters of the project.



• The MTP organized a truly historic memorial service on May 17th, 2009 for Mary Turner and the other victims of the 1918 lynching rampage. More than 130 community and family members attended the service where family members shared their stories, members of the MTP discussed the purpose and work of their group, and the upcoming installation of the historical marker was announced. In addition to breaking bread together at the local community center, a motorcade of more than 50 cars drove to the site of Mary Turner's murder for prayer and to reflect on the events of 1918. (Valdosta Times coverage and Editorial)



• On September 28, 2009 the MTP organized "Heritage, Hate, or Fear, A Community Discussion about Southern Symbols and Their Meaning." This public forum was organized to discuss the use of the Confederate flag by local fraternities at Valdosta State University. More than 125 students, faculty, and community members attended to dialog and get information about the history of this devisive symbol, student's free speech rights, why many people don't know the history of this symbol, students' reaction to it, and its impact on multicultural affairs and race relations. (Valdosta Daily Times and Valdosta State Specatator coverage)



• On March 30, 2010 the MTP organized "Exploring the Political Climate Since the Election of President Barack Obama." This public forum was organized to discuss the current political climate and what that climate reveals about us as a nation. Panelists included VSU faculty, representatives from the local Republican and Democratic parties, as well as a number of local community leaders. The goal of the event was to have constructive dialog about where we are politically as a community/nation and whether current differences reflect ongoing racial animosities. (Valdosta Daily Times coverage)

If you would like to become involved with the Mary Turner Project or if you just want to stay informed about our work simply send us an email and we will add you to our email list. Thanks for your support and interest in the project.