Montgomery County declares November Remembrance and Reconciliation Month; council urges action alongside reflection

The Montgomery County Council on Nov. 12 proclaimed November as Remembrance and Reconciliation Month, calling for education and community action to address the county's history of racial terror and to work toward healing.

Councilmember Will Giwando, one of the legislation's original sponsors, said the commission was established to “address our county's history of racial terror and to help chart a path toward reconciliation,” and noted recent concerns about divisive rhetoric following the national election. He asked residents to pair remembrance with concrete actions to reduce disparities in housing, education and criminal justice.

Jim Stowe, director of the Office of Human Rights, read a lyric from Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and said remembrance must be accompanied by “responsibility of the acts described…to lead to a pathway of peace of mind, forgiveness and reconciliation.” Jason Green, chair of the county’s Commission on Remembrance and Reconciliation, urged residents to engage in county events and oral history projects and described plans to place lifetime memorials for the documented victims George Peck, John Diggs Dorsey and Sydney Randolph.

Tracy Oliver Gary, MCPS supervisor for pre‑K through 12 social studies, described age‑appropriate local African American history lessons developed with the commission and oral‑history projects that will be included in mandated November lessons for students. The proclamation encourages residents to participate in remembrance and reconciliation activities and was signed on Nov. 12, 2024.