Great-Granddaughter Stands Where Her Ancestor's Name is Honored: Historic "Lynching to Liberation" Conference Coming to Eufaula Before Juneteenth

Eufaula, AL, May 29, 2025 --(PR.com)-- In a powerful act of family healing and community reckoning, the Black Heritage Society of Eufaula, founded by Eliza Jane "SouthernBelle Radical" Franklin, will host the inaugural "Lynching to Liberation" conference June 6-8, 2025, officially honoring her great-grandfather William "Willie" Jenkins, lynched in Eufaula in 1922.

The three-day conference precedes Eufaula's Juneteenth celebrations and marks the first official recognition of Jenkins and other lynching victims in Barbour County history.

"For over 100 years, my great-grandfather's murder was silenced," said Franklin, who recently graduated from the University of Southern California's Heritage Conservation Department on May 16th, 2025 and will begin a doctoral program in History at Auburn University in the Fall. "This conference transforms that trauma into healing and creates pathways for genuine reconciliation."

Day One features a sacred soil ceremony to memorialize lynching victim William "Willie" Jenkins at the Heritage House (formerly Wellborn House) with a virtual poetry reading by Remica Bingham-Risher, Los Angeles Times 2025 Poetry Book Winner. An Equal Justice Initiative representative will participate.

Day Two brings renowned speakers Dr. Kwesi Daniels, Chair of Tuskegee University's Architecture Department, and Dr. Kimberly Wallace-Sanders from Emory College to Lakepoint for the main conference. The day will also feature a walk-through exhibit of prints by incarcerated artists from the Alabama Prison Arts and Education Project.

Day Three concludes with a group visit to Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative Memorial in Montgomery.

Franklin, whose family roots trace to Barbour County's first Black county commissioner, Elijah Franklin, founded the heritage society to preserve previously silenced Black and Indigenous histories. This groundbreaking event bridges historical truth-telling with community healing as Eufaula prepares for Juneteenth.

Tickets available until June 3.

About The Black Heritage Society of Eufaula: Founded by Eliza Jane "SouthernBelle Radical" Franklin to preserve and share Black and Indigenous heritage through education, advocacy, and commemoration.