McLennan Commissioners Don’t Want Anti-Lynching Resolution Displayed On County Property
By Vince Leibowitz on Jul 18, 2006 in Activism
WACO—With its only African American member out town visiting civil rights museums with area school children, the McLennan County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to pass a rule which would effectively prohibit the display of a previously adopted ceremonial resolution appologizing for one of American history’s most notorious lynchings in any county building.Â
The vote took place without County Commissioner Lester Gibson, the court’s only African American member and a proponent of the resolution. Gibson had been fighting to have the resolution displayed in the County Courthouse.
Waco, the county seat of McClennan County was the site of the notorious 1916 lynching of Jesse Washington, a 17-year-old retarded African American boy. The lynching, which resulted in national attention, also helped propel the NAACP into national prominence. At least one book has been written to chronicle the event. The rule adopted by the court prohibits the display of any “pictures, plaques or memorials†in any county facility.
It follows two months of in-fighting between Gibson and the other commissioners over whether the county should publicly display the resolution condemning the lynching, which Commissioners pased in May.
In the wake of the passage of the new rule, County Judge Jim Lewis said the resolution would be removed from the building.
Prior to this round of drama surrounding the resolution, three commissioners walked out of a meeting earlier this month when Gibson was seeking to display the resolution in the county courthouse.
After that meeting, Gibson placed the resolution under clear plastic and affixed it to a podium, which was near a rotunda mural that features a noose hanging from a tree.
McClennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch then ordered removed after consultation with the County Judge and County Attorney Mike Dixon. Gibson replaced the resolution, only to have it removed by courthouse security officers citing its display as a security risk.
[Waco, Texas Blogger Nathan Nance at Common Sense has ongoing, comprehensive, localized coverage of this story.]
Lester Gibson is going to come completely UNGLUED. I may have to sit outside the courthouse when he gets back from his trip just to watch the fireworks through the windows.
Mr. Gibson is not held in very high esteem in Waco- for a variety of reasons- one of which that he spends in inordinate amount of time on things that do not ‘better’ life in McLennan county as a whole- but rather with things that push his own agenda.
As far as the resolution- as a white Waco resident- I say put it up- if it heals some in the community, then it’s worth it. Problem is, Lester has created such a firestorm around himself with so many things, Lewis and Meadows are going to do anything in their power to buck him at every turn.