The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project (MLMP) and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announced an artistic collaboration on Maryland’s first permanent memorial to victims of racial terror lynching. The memorial is slated to be unveiled in 2027.
The collaboration is the next phase of a multi-year partnership that began in 2022, when the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and MLMP announced a federally funded initiative to create a permanent exhibit and a memorial honoring Maryland’s known and unknown lynching victims. The exhibit, “Lynching in Maryland,” opened in October 2024.
Federal funding for the memorial is no longer available, but MLMP is still committed to the project. An ad hoc committee of Maryland artists, scholars, and arts administrators is helping plan an open competition for the memorial’s design.
At MLMP’s 8th annual conference, the organization shared an update on the memorial’s project and BSO music director Jonathon Heyward spoke about the orchestra’s collaboration, remarking on the role music plays in supporting remembrance and reconciliation. BSO will partner with MLMP to commission and premiere a new chamber work to accompany the memorial’s dedication. The music will explore themes of loss, resilience, and remembrance, offering an artistic parallel and response to the memorial’s purpose and narrative.
“America’s history of racial terror has been dismissed for far too long,” said Will Schwarz, founder and past president of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project. “We believe music has the unique power to make this dark legacy accessible to audiences in an emotional way that can be a vehicle for the reckoning we seek.”
Between 1865 and 1950 more than 6,500 Black Americans were lynched in the United States. At least 38 of them were in Maryland. These acts of racial terror were grotesque displays of power meant to cement the lie that white people were superior. Sometimes lynchings were even enjoyed by white Americans as they brought their children to witness and took on a picnic atmosphere.
The MLMP’s tagline is “Truth first.” Its website reads, “It’s clear that the legacy of racism endures in America’s psyche and our society. We believe the injuries racism continues to inflict cannot be healed until it is confronted, that is: there must be truth before there can be reconciliation.”
“This project continues years of community-based research, documentation, and public education,” said Amy Millin, president of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project. “The memorial—and the artistic work that will accompany it—will offer space for reflection, learning, and connection. It is a collective step toward a more honest and inclusive historical record for Maryland.”
Heyward looks forward to adding the dimension of music to the healing process.
“Music has the power to resonate, reflect thought, invoke feeling, and challenge perceptions where words cannot,” Heyward said. “We are honored to collaborate with MLMP as they build this long-awaited memorial, supporting communities as they confront painful truths and imagine a more just future.”
The memorial’s final design and site details will be announced as MLMP advances its next phase of work with partners, designers, and community stakeholders. For more information about the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, visit the MLMP website.
