Joseph H. Boxley Lynching Site Soil Dedication Ceremony: June 10, 10:00 a.m., Alamo, Tennessee
Sponsored by Crockett County NAACP Branch and The Equal Justice Initiative
Alamo, Tennessee, June 1, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Saturday, June 10, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. in the Circuit Courtroom, second floor, Crockett County Courthouse, Alamo, Tennessee, the Crockett County NAACP Branch, and the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), Montgomery, Alabama, will hold an admission-free, public ceremony, remembering Joseph H. Boxley, and dedicating soil from his lynching site for permanent display in EJI’s Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, in Montgomery.
Joseph H. Boxley, the African-American teenage son of Jesse Boxley and wife Jennie Johnson Boxley who was accused of assaulting a white woman, was removed by a mob from the Crockett County jail in Alamo, May 29, 1929, and lynched just west of the Coxville community, on the north side of what is now Tennessee Highway 152.
Joseph H. Boxley, the African-American teenage son of Jesse Boxley and wife Jennie Johnson Boxley who was accused of assaulting a white woman, was removed by a mob from the Crockett County jail in Alamo, May 29, 1929, and lynched just west of the Coxville community, on the north side of what is now Tennessee Highway 152.
Jim Emison, Attorney
The lynching was widely reported locally and nationally, including the May 30 edition of the New York Times, and the June 10 issue of Time magazine.
Those in attendance will have the opportunity to place a small portion of the soil collected from the lynching site into the urn that will be permanently displayed in EJI’s Museum. EJI’s goal is to collect and display soil from every lynching site in the United States.
Speakers will include keynoter District Attorney Garry G. Brown of Alamo; Bill Carey, Tennessee historian, author and founder of Tennessee History for Kids, Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, State Senator Ed Jackson, and State Representatives Craig Fitzhugh and Johnnie Turner.
The ceremony, approximately one hour in length, will include brief remarks by a Boxley family member, and an Equal Justice Initiative staffer, a scripture, prayers, an interpretative dance, and a song.
Free copies of Equal Justice Initiative’s publications, including the critically acclaimed Lynching In America, will be available.
An educational exhibit documents the lynching, with copies of contemporary newspaper accounts including the New York Times, photographs of the lynched teen, and a Boxley family history and photos.
For more information, contact Jim Emison, jimemison@gmail.com, 731-696-2434, Alamo, Tennessee 38001.
Source: Crockett County NAACP