119 years ago, on August 27th, John Moore was lynched in New Bern, North Carolina. The Forward Together Coalition gathered Sunday to honor John Moore as a part of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Projects.
“As you hear the waves in the background, hear the voice of God speaking to you, asking you what is required of you as it relates to injustice, equality,”
It's Sunday in New Bern. The 2 o'clock sun hangs overhead and the familiar hum of cicadas fills the air, just as it did over 100 years ago when John Moore became the wrong man, found at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
"Today we stand on this hallowed ground. Unified to provide a space, a common ground. A space forward. A space for forward movement that serves as a connector to a more perfect union.”
In this space, local leaders, politicians, pastors, historians and residents gather along the Neuse River to reconcile with New Bern’s past. Historian, Cleopatra Harget Lawton, addressed the community with historical context for Moore’s death.
“How many of you have heard the phrase the breath of life? Raise your hand. We all have. All of humanity, since creation, continues to breathe that single creation "breath" that God gave and only God can give. The question is, does any human being have the right to take away that breath from any other human?”
Lawton said that is the question the community is dealing with today when examining the group of white men who broke into the Craven County jail in 1905 to take John Moore.
“They took justice into their own hands, acting as God. And took Mr. Moore to this spot where we stand today. Hanged him on the Neuse River Bridge that was here and took his breath of God, acting as God. Which many have done in the past and are still doing today.”
Lawton said the Forward Together coalition strives to counteract this legacy, advocating for justice for all.
“This Forward Together group and those of you here today can be a voice of justice in our lives, daily as we act as conscientious protectors of all who breathe the breath of God.”
One of Forward Together’s leading members and the Tryon Palace’s retired African American Outreach Coordinator, Sharon Bryant, said this dark part of history has often been swept under the rug.
“There was a lot of hatred going on during that time. But if people don't know the history, this is going to be, you know, continue to be repeated. So from 1905 up until present, some of these things has happened and no one is asking questions.”
Bryant said Sunday was a day to ask those questions. The Equal Justice Initiative designed the remembrance events for communities to unite and reflect on the South’s history of racial violence. Seth Kotch, an associate professor in the Department of American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, said facing our history lets the whole community move towards a more united future.
"I believe that remembrance activities are actually very forward looking because they involve engaging with the past around the idea that the future is important and that there are issues that need not to be resolved, but to be discussed and identified and shared with one another so that we can identify our common values, identify where we want to go."
And Nick Courmon said one of those common values should be helping the community heal. Courmon is a descendent of Percy Berry, who was killed in an act of racial violence in Havelock on April 14, 1932. The Forward Together coalition hosted a remembrance ceremony for Berry in April of this year. Courmon said attending and speaking at both Craven County remembrance events is a form of healing for him and his family.
“That kind of, that kind of trauma is, you know, passed down generationally. So I, I think that, you know, healing, here, like just being in these spaces, you know, just like wants me to like, continue to push for, for that, for like, more opportunities to, you know, to educate and more opportunities to heal.”
Courmon said whatever wrong was done publicly, must be addressed publicly, and the remembrance events are an avenue for the community to identify the past and move towards a better future.
On Sunday, New Bern became one of over 700 communities to collect soil from the sites of racial terror lynchings as part of the Equal Justice Initiative's program.
This remembrance event, and all that follow, aim to challenge the community to confront the realities of its shared history. It serves as a reminder that the work of remembrance isn’t just about the past—it’s about shaping a future of justice and peace.