Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson reads a Proclamation in honor of lynching victim Joseph McCoy who was murdered on April 23, 1897. This Proclamation acknowledges both of Alexandria ‘s lynching victims and is a formal apology from The City of Alexandria for past racial injustice. 

Feeling in Blanks ... For Joseph McCoy

© KaNikki Jakarta, Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia April 17, 2020 

Black Boy
Born to Ann and Samuel as Reconstruction ended
And the era of Jim Crow started
Left many family members broken hearted 
Before his life as a man officially began
A sorrowful trend amongst black families
Tugging on heart strings to rejoice or weep
when black boys are birthed
A blessing and a curse on a family tree
Because we’re never sure if someone will kill you
And write you down in history untrue
After accusing you of crimes like 
Assaulting someone white
Talking back to someone white
Looking at someone white
Whistling at someone white
Despite putting up a fight or screaming a denial
You might get a trial
But it will be unjust 
Although you initially denied it all
I think you thought it was best to confess…
This is not a history that belongs to you alone
And if you would have grown
Just a bit older
You may have cried on someone’s shoulder 
Two years later over another black boy named Benjamin Thompson 
Who shares this story too
I wish I could talk to you
I would ask you what really took place
I wish I could look upon your face 
to hear your story
The way that you would have it told
The way that circumstances would unfold
On April 23, 1897
Truth is, I want to pen your story
But the newspapers don’t show
What happened all of those years ago
But this is what I know…
You were born Joseph McCoy
You had four siblings and you were the youngest boy
And before you were ever thought to be
Your grandmother Cecilia McCoy was born free
More than a half century
Before you were lynched 
Hanged from a lamppost and shot multiple times
No family members would claim your body
And no one was ever charged with a crime
But, this is not the part of your story that I would want to tell
I don’t want to recap the horrible night a mob of 500 retrieved you from jail
I don’t want to write about your how your funeral was held 
Instead, 
I would like to highlight 
That despite the fact you didn’t celebrate your 21st birthday
Today, 
123 Years Later
You are celebrated
You are remembered 
A legend, a light
Shining bright 
even in your absence 
An ancestor whose story far surpassed the details of your death
A part of history that will let in peace be the way you rest
No one remembers the names of the people who took your life
They don’t get glory for spreading bitterness and strife
But you
Joseph McCoy
A black boy
Born to Ann and Samuel as Reconstruction ended
And the era of Jim Crow started
Whose death left many family members broken hearted 
Before his life as a man officially began
A horrific trend 
In black history
Another tragedy
But your history will be one remembered alongside 
Others who were also lynched, shot, or hanged
But we will remember your name
Because your history is within my pen now
Within my words now
A black writer
Who decided to write about you in a positive way
But still today
We are left with the question 
Who could you have grown to be? 
If they would not have killed you

In 1897, Rev. William Gaines of Robert’s Chapel, now known as Roberts United Methodist Memorial Church, led the funeral service for Joseph McCoy. In this video, the church’s current pastor, James Daniely, offers remarks and lifts a prayer as if he had been conducting McCoy’s funeral. The clip reflects the religious beliefs of McCoy and his family. The City of Alexandria respects all faiths and is an inclusive community. This video clip is not an endorsement of any one faith. 

Opinion piece by Audrey Davis, Director, Alexandria Black History Museum 
The Alexandria Gazette Packet , April 23-29, 2020, page 6.

Retropolis, By Michael E. Ruane. The Washington Post, April 24, 2020, page B4.

In honor of Joseph McCoy, City of Alexandria Library staff have curated a list of social justice reading for adults and for youth. We hope you will find these selections educational, and moving. These titles - both fiction and nonfiction - provide context for discussion of race, class, violence and American society.

• A Very Large Expanse of Sea - Tahereh Mafi
• All American Boys - Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
• All-American Muslim Girl - Nadine Jolie Courtney
• Anger is a Gift - Mark Oshiro
• Dear Martin - Nic Stone
• Here to Stay - Sara Farizan
• How I Resist - Maureen Johnson
• March Series - John Lewis
• Out of Darkness - Ashley Hope Perez
• Piecing Me Together - Renee Watson

• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning - Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

• Slay - Brittney Morris
• The Good Braider - Terry Farish
• The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
• The Lines We Cross - Randa Abdel-Fattah
• The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights - Steve Sheinkin

• Between the World and Me - Ta'Nehesi Coates
• Blackballed: The Black Vote and US Democracy - Darryl Pinckney
• Ebony & Ivory: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities - Craig Wilder
• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower - Brittney Cooper
• For White Folks Who Teach In the 'Hood…And the Rest of Y'all, Too - Christopher Emdin
• How To Be An Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi
• Men We Reaped - Jessmyn Ward
• Of Poetry & Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin - Philip Cushway
• Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America - Melissa Harris-Perry
• So You Want To Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America - Ibram X. Kendi
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - Michelle Alexander
• We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy - Ta'Nehesi Coates
• When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir - Patrisse Khan - Cullors & Asha Bandele
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Race - Robin DiAngelo

• RES (Racial and Ethnic Socialization): Developed by the American Psychological Association, this resource focuses on building and reinforcing positive outcomes in African American children. The resources, directed towards parents, caregivers, and educators of African American children and youth (ages 5-18) may prove helpful in the museum education context.
• Engaging my Child: Towards the bottom of the parent resource page, there is a break-down of discussing race and ethnicity by the age of child.
• EmbraceRace: This non-profit describes itself as “a multiracial community of parents, teachers, experts, and other caring adults who support each other to meet the challenges that race poses to our children, families, and communities.” Scroll the webinars to listen to or read the transcripts of them—don’t miss “How Children Learn about Race” and “How to Address Racial Injustice with Young Children” in this section. Tips and recommendations related to book selection are found throughout the site.
• Teaching for Change: Building Social Justice Starting in the Classroom has a “Teaching Resources” section of its website that includes everything from overarching themes like Anti-Bias Education to specific topics like Civil Rights. The News section is incredibly helpful in keeping up with the latest happening in and adjacent to the field. The thought-piece on “When and How to Talk with Young Children about Enslavement: Discussion Questions for Educators” within News provides good questions for conversation and consideration 
• Teaching Tolerance: “Let’s Talk: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students” is one of Learning for Justice’s many helpful resources. The pamphlet focuses on facilitating difficult dialogues with student groups. It includes a self-reflection section, facilitation techniques, and suggestions for adjusting strategies for K-5 students
• Learning for Justice's blog post: This blog post on Learning for Justice’s website includes a helpful quick reference of do’s and don’ts for teaching slavery to students.
• DC Area Educators 4 Social Justice: As we seek to connect with and meaningfully contribute to what the community is already doing, this is a great network and resource for Alexandria museum educators to be a part of.
• Talk with Children about Slavery: This resource was developed by a mom and activist who wanted to help others talk to their kids about race, social justice, and other crucial issues. Her blog links to a lot of other resources beyond her own.
• Smithsonian Magazine, Indigenous Peoples’ Day: A useful article with links to additional resources as we rethink programming around what was Columbus Day and is now recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Alexandria.
• Understanding Race: The American Anthropological Association Race Project website features a family guide for discussing race with children.

As part of this community reflection, share your thoughts, artwork, or creative writing after viewing the information on this In Memoriam page. Email your work to historicalexandria@alexandriava.gov. Selections will be posted on this web page.

This In Memoriam  page honors lynching victim Joseph McCoy, murdered on April 23,1897. The very act of lynching is meant to promote terror and fear. Lynching images are disturbing and they are not included on this site due to their horrific nature. Still, we know that some will find the written content extremely disturbing and that is very normal. Even trained therapists find this material hard to digest. Please read the following piece by Arnecia Moody, LCSW one of the therapists who works with the Alexandria EJI Community Remembrance Project. Here, she reflects on a February community meeting about Joseph McCoy.

Response to Joseph McCoy’s Lynching

The dictionary defines lynching as “putting to death by mob action, usually a hanging without legal authority.” The Equal Justice Initiative defines “lynching as a violent and public event that traumatized black people throughout the country and were largely tolerated by state and federal officials.” I start with the definition of lynching to summarize the emotions that irrupted in my heart and soul while participating in the memorial journey of the lynching of Joseph McCoy. After walking this commemorative journey (on February 23, 2020, with Alexandria Community Remembrance Project committee members), I was struck by the overwhelming terror my ancestors experienced. I was also struck by the continuing struggles of the bonds of systemic racism that slavery and other forms of social oppression and controls are built. I felt empathy for my ancestors and saddens for African American people during this journey. I felt disheartened because these racist practices are built into the fibers of America, the America that we as African Americans live in today.

The one thing that resonated with me was how helpless Joseph McCoy, his relatives, and the other African Americans must have felt during that period.

This experience triggered emotions of Black people’s pain and suffering. After the walk, we listened to Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday, which was a fitting end to an emotional day.

Arnecia Moody, LCSW-C, LCSW, LICSW

Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, wrote: "Racial healing cannot take place until the country faces the truth about its history." The acknowledgement, apology for and commemoration of the lynching of Joseph McCoy should be regarded as a major step in our city's ongoing struggle toward racial healing.

Richard Merritt

This was an awesome way to remember this tragic event.

James R. Morgan III