No. This will be neither a statue nor monument to George Hughes.

The current “Courthouses of Grayson County” Texas Historical Marker notes, “the Majestic 1876 Courthouse […] served the county until it burned in 1930” but does not provide any facts on why, or how, it was destroyed.

This is not a campaign to remove any current Grayson County Courthouse Texas Historical Markers, monuments, or any other tokens of remembrance.

Currently, there are twenty-four (24) such commemorations, eight of which are Texas Historical Markers. We are asking to add one (1) more Historical Marker to record the Sherman Riot of 1930 which began at the Grayson County Courthouse grounds and resulted in the extrajudicial killing of a man as well as the burning of the county courthouse and city’s black business district.

No. We are not sponsored by any political group, national/regional/state organization, nor are we associated with any social/racial movement.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) supports our efforts, but refers any/all questions regarding a Historical Marker to our leadership team.

George Hughes was lynched when he suffocated in the court’s records vault prior to being dragged by a car through the black town center, mutilated, hanged, and burned.

Hughes suffocated while attempting to survive the fire started by a mob, who then prevented fire officials from putting out the blaze.

Hughes was never convicted of a crime, nor sentenced to any penalty, despite his alleged confession; official histories have additional alternative explanations for the purported cause of the supposed crime.

Lynching is defined as a person being illegally killed by a group of three or more persons acting under the pretext of service to justice, race, or tradition.

Texas Courthouses are the collective communal/societal center for any municipality. They are where community records are stored and where justice is expected, by all.

The Grayson County Courthouse is where the riot started and where justice was denied; this is the appropriate place for the Historical Marker to be placed.

This event was a pivotal, seminal inflection point for our community, both in time and place.

Experts tell us public memorialization plays a significant role in both prompting and promoting community-wide reconciliation. A Texas Historical Marker on the Courthouse lawn – exactly where this horrific event began – would be an apt remembrance towards faithfully achieving this desired end state.