AAR&RI Responds to Vandalism with a Renewed Commitment to the Beloved Community

Statement from the Anderson Area Remembrance & Reconciliation Initiative

The Anderson Area Remembrance & Reconciliation Initiative (AAR&RI) is saddened by the recent vandalism of the Lynching in Anderson County historical marker located in downtown Anderson.

This marker honors the memory of Edward Sullivan, Elbert Harris, John Laddison, Reuben Elrod, and Willis Jackson, five Black men and boys whose lives were taken by racial terror violence in Anderson County between 1894 and 1911. It exists not to reopen old wounds, but to acknowledge our shared history with honesty and to ensure that these lives are remembered with dignity.

Acts of vandalism cannot erase history or diminish our commitment to truth, remembrance, and reconciliation. Instead, they remind us that the work of healing is ongoing and that confronting our past remains essential to building a stronger future.

AAR&RI was founded to honor these victims through the Equal Justice Initiative's Community Remembrance Project and, through dialogue, education, and fellowship, to move Anderson County toward reconciliation, the elimination of racial disparities, and the realization of the Beloved Community envisioned by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Our response to this act will not be anger but resolve. We will restore this marker, continue telling these stories, and continue inviting our community into the difficult but hopeful work of remembrance and reconciliation.

The paint on this marker will be removed. The truth it represents will remain. Together, we will continue the work of building the Beloved Community.

This marker is located in downtown Anderson, SC on Main Street next to the Anderson Police Department.