The public is invited to attend a ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday on the site of a historical marker that acknowledges the event, about a half-mile south of Slocum ISD on the west side of Farm-to-Market Road 2022.
Slocum, an unincorporated town 18 miles southeast of Palestine, was the site of racially motivated killings, beginning July 29, 1910. Documents show armed white men poured into the Slocum area after false rumors of an African-American uprising circulated.
Dallas resident Constance Hollie-Jawaid’s great-great-grandfather, Jack Holley, was a landowner and businessman who escaped during the killings. His grandson, Alex, was killed, while grandson, Lusk, was injured.
Alex is among the eight officially recognized as victims and named on the historical marker erected in January. The other victims are: Cleveland Larkin, Sam Baker, Dick Wilson, Jeff Wilson, Ben Dancer, John Hays and Will Burly.
“We will be erecting memorials to pay respect to the lives lost,” Mrs. Hollie-Jawaid said.
Descendants believe the number of people killed during the massacre was much higher than officially reported. According to official accounts during that time, some victims were buried in an unmarked mass grave.
Efforts to excavate the area where the mass graves may have been located have been unsuccessful.
