Public Memorialization in the United States: Truth Commissions, Monuments and Commemoration

Join the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project for a discussion on public memorialization in the U.S. with Attorney James Williams.

Williams, former chief public defender for Orange and Chatham counties in North Carolina, and current racial equity coordinator at The Center for Death Penalty Litigation, has lead the Booker Spicely Committee, which seeks memorialization for a solider killed in 1944 and restorative justice for surviving family members.

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In 1944, Pfc. Spicely, in uniform and unarmed, was shot and killed by a bus driver in Durham, North Carolina, after a brief exchange in which Spicely protested the segregated seating on the bus. The committee's mission to memorialize Pfc. Spicely has resulted in the unveiling of a historical marker near the site of his death, while Williams has also successfully spearheaded efforts to create the Booker T. Spicely Endowed Scholarship Fund and develop a public school lesson plan incorporating Spicely’s case.

The discussion will center on public memorialization in the U.S., including the efforts of Truth Commissions, monuments and other forms of commemoration.

Meet with Williams as he shares the truths and lessons he has learned during a legal career that spans more than 40 years.