Almost a century after he was killed by police, this weekend people in Jacksonville will commemorate a Black man whose corpse was put on display for curiosity seekers as being the victim of a racial terror lynching.
Willie Washington, a 22-year-old chauffeur, was shot inside his family’s downtown home on Jan. 31, 1925 after a weeklong manhunt for a nameless Black man who had attacked a white society woman.
What happened after the shooting made his death a lynching.
“The body of the negro was placed on exhibit yesterday at 11 o’clock following a conference of local officials,” the Times-Union reported at the time.
904WARD, the 5-year-old civic group that developed the Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project to acknowledged racial lynching and a deck of cards to prompt racial-equity conversations, has hired its first CEO and plans to expand its efforts to end racism in the community.
Prominent local philanthropists including The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida and the Chartrand, DuBow and Weaver families, have committed at least $1 million over three years to support the effort. These donors were willing to make a multiyear investment in 904WARD s future because of what it has been able to achieve in the past five years, said Nina Waters, Community Foundation president. Their investment endorses 904WARD s strategy of consistent engagement and authentic discussion, using creative and thoughtful ways to include a wide range of voices. These donors recognize that Jacksonville must be a more inclusive community and that 904WARD is perfectly positioned to lead this work.