Moore's Ford Memorial Committee collection

The Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee was a group of citizens from Oconee, Walton, and surrounding counties who formed a non-profit organization to commemorate the lives of the four African Americans killed by a lynch mob at the Moore’s Ford Bridge in July 1946. Their work involves cemetery restoration, the placement of gravesite and other historical markers, organizing memorial services, funding student scholarships, and advocating for a memorial museum.

The Moore’s Ford lynching, also known as the 1946 Georgia lynching, occurred on July 25, 1946. A mob consisting of fifteen to twenty white men lynched and then shot four African Americans: Second World War veteran George W. Dorsey and his pregnant wife Mae Murray Dorsey and their friends Roger and Dorothy Malcolm. Common lore states that the lynching took place on the Moore’s Ford Bridge in Walton and Oconee counties, bridging the cities Monroe and Watkinsville; in fact, the victims were shot and killed on a road in Walton County.

The lynching attracted national attention and spurred President Harry S. Truman to create the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. During this time, anti-lynching legislation was also introduced to Congress but was not passed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into the lynching in 1946 but was unable to garner sufficient evidence for the United States District Attorney to prosecute. The investigation lasted six months, entailed around 3,000 interviews, and resulted in 100 subpoenas. However, there was little local support or co-operation in the investigation and no one confessed to the crime. The F. B. I. was unable to uncover physical evidence in the case as well. A grand jury heard testimony in December 1946, but did not convict anyone. The case received further national attention when a witness, Clinton Adams, came forward in 1992, leading to an account in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2001, the case was reopened by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; the FBI joined the reopened case in 2006. The case was closed again in 2015 by the F. B. I. and 2018 by the G. B. I. due to insufficient evidence.

The 1992 article led to renewed local interest in commemorating the Dorseys and Malcolms. The Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee was founded in 1997 to work towards commemoration and racial reconciliation. The group succeeded in erecting tombstones on the previously unmarked graves, conducting a military memorial service for George Dorsey in 1999, and working with the Georgia Historical Society to erect a historical marker at the site of the lynching in 1999 on the 53rd anniversary of the lynching. The organization comprised local residents, as well as honorary members including Representative John Lewis and President Bill Clinton.