Commission Votes In Favor Of Lynching Memorial

Alachua County Commissioners have voted unanimously to place memorial markers around the county in remembrance of those lynched, including a notorious case in Newberry.According to an report from the Equal Justice Initiative, there were 331 lynchings in Florida between 1877 and 1950, with 19 confirmed lynchings in Alachua County. Per black capita in Florida, the state had the highest lynching rate among any Southern state. Alachua County had the third highest lynchings in the state, behind Orange and Marion counties.The commission will begin holding a series of meetings to get input on the memorial markers, such as how they should look and where they should be placed.WUFT's Maggie Lorenz took a look at how this decision was perceived by county residents and how it will affect the community.