Letter and plaque on Moore’s Ford Lynching gives rise to heated exchange between Monroe Mayor and Councilman

Monroe Mayor John Howard and City Councilman Norman Garrett got into a little heated debate at Tuesday night’s City Council work session during a discussion on a Letter of Acknowledgement of the tragic events 75 years ago that led to the last unsolved lynching. Although it took place at the Moore’s Ford Bridge on July 25, 1946 on the Walton/Oconee County line, the events leading up to the murder of George W. and Mae Murry Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom began in the City of Monroe.

Members of the Monroe Diversity Advisory Board had asked the City Council in November 2020 that such a letter be composed. Several drafts of the letter have been prepared, edited and re-edited between the mayor and members of the board since then with Howard eventually getting a draft to present to the City Council on Sept. 7 for a vote to approve it on Sept. 14.

Garrett questioned the timing of the letter being so close to the election in which Howard has an opponent, Emilio Kelly, who is a local businessman and a member of the city’s black population. Howard responded that Garrett could have been involved with the drafting of the letter, which had taken several months to perfect, but had chosen not to be. The exchange was captured by Darrell Everidge of DarrellProductions.com and both Garrett and Howard were interviewed after the meeting.

Click or tap on the link below to see the exchange and interview by Everidge on his Youtube Channel.

If approved by the Monroe City Council on Sept. 14, the plaque will have a temporary place at Monroe City Hall until a fitting permanent place can be found for it.