Cadets from the United States Military Academy West Point and the United States Air Force Academy visited Oconee and Walton Counties on June 1 to see the Moore’s Ford Bridge and historical marker to learn the history of the lynchings as told by Civil Rights worker, former Georgia House Rep. and Chair of the Moore’s Ford Movement,
Brooks said it was a high honor for him to host the cadets along with Moore’s Ford Movement Coordinator Hattie Lawson and Former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers.
On July 25, 1946, George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Dorsey Malcom, who was reportedly seven months pregnant at the time of her murder, were beaten and shot by a mob following an argument between Malcom and a white farmer, according to the historical marker.
In 2008, Brooks said they gathered with the family of Roger and Dorothy Dorsey Malcom to officially name the couple’s unborn baby, deciding on the name Justice.
Brooks said the lynchings were a result of African Americans being given the right to vote and the Georgia government deciding on July 17, 1946, that they would have an election in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
“Another thing that’s important to remember is that one of the victims in the Moore’s Ford Bridge Lynching Massacre was an honorable retired soldier, army veteran–his name was George Dorsey,” Brooks said.
Brooks said it was also important for the cadets to realize the ties the Moore’s Ford Bridge Lynching Massacre had to MLK Jr., who launched the movement to end lynchings in America at 17 years old and wrote about lynchings across the state.
“That began to highlight how military veterans were being treated once they came back from the war. World War II was ending, they came back home, and they were victimized by their own government, their own system that they’ve been fighting to uphold,” said Brooks. “I think that was very important for West Point and Air Force cadets and also those who continue to come to observe this history.”