Truth-Telling as Disruptive Resistance: The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission

• In Event: Peace, War, and Social Conflict Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Peace, War, and Social Conflict Roundtable #2: Collective Violence

Abstract

This article explores how the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission (MLTRC) engages in truth-telling in a context of 400+ years of systemic racial violence and its possibilities and challenges for fostering racial justice as perceived by participants. This reflection is timely given that the literature suggests the limitations and problematics of victim-centered truth-telling approaches in contexts such as the United States, where perpetrators and beneficiaries of the injustice continue to be socially dominant. While power asymmetry presents real challenges for truth commissions, one should not overlook the creative actions and testimonies that refuse to "compromise" on truth and justice and constitute a potentially generative process in their distinctive act of resistance against White supremacy. By exploring the MLTRC’s approach, its perceived importance, and transformative elements, this article also contributes to the empirical literature documenting the disruptive and transformative potential of truth commissions, particularly for racial justice in the US.

Author

• Michelle I. Gawerc, Loyola University Maryland