March on Moore's Ford Bridge in Monroe is Today

Civil rights activists will be in Monroe todayto commemorate the 45th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well to participate in the Annual March on the Moore’s Ford Bridge.

The event will begin at noon at the First African Baptist Church, 130 Tyler Street (Corner of Main Street, Hwy. 11), Monroe, GA 30655. According to the event calendar, the activists are demanding the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the lynching massacre of the Malcoms and the Dorseys on July 25, 1946. The special guest speaker is Benjamin Todd Jealous, National President/CEO NAACP.

The 9th Annual Re-enactment of the Moore’s Ford Bridge Lynching is scheduled for Saturday, July 27, 2013, also beginning at noon at the First African Baptist Church in Monroe. The re-enactment is of the 1946 murders of black sharecroppers George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom. The lynching took place at Moore’s Ford Bridge on the Walton-Oconee County line. The two couples were ambushed, reportedly by a group of about 15 to 20 men, and gunned down. The crime was never solved.

Two days before the 2013 annual re-enactment this summer, there will be a news conference at the Georgia State Capitol. An April 4th story in The Times Herald reports that activists believe that documents brought to light recently shed light on the lynchings. According to information from the office of state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, the documents suggest involvement of federal agents. Brooks, however, is himself under an FBI investigation for alleged improper use of funds. Activists say it is a smoke screen because of the GABEO's persistence in keeping alive the investigation into the Moore's Ford lynchings.

In 2001, former Gov. Roy Barnes commissioned the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to re-open the case. In 2006 the Federal Bureau of Investigation also re-entered investigations. The case remains open. There is a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of any persons guilty of these murders.