Chapter 9 monroe in early spring

We use Route 78 in Georgia a lot.Every time I go to see my friend Francis, I always take this section.The sign of a small town on the side of the road made us pay attention.It is at the exit before we are about to leave Highway 78. When we see it, we know that we are about to turn down, which is tantamount to a warning.Furthermore, the name of the town is very interesting in Chinese translation. You can translate it as "Monroe", which is the name of a famous American president, or "Monroe", which is the name of the movie star Marilyn Monroe. Lou's name. In English, it's all about it, "Monroe".

1. A rally at Monroe When I entered the town, I saw the signs and realized that this town was established in the era of President Monroe in the 1920s.So, with the incumbent president's name called Monroe. The town of Monroe is forty miles east of Atlanta. What brought us to the town in early spring was a murder that happened sixty years ago. On July 25, 1946, a group of white KKK thugs lynched and murdered four black people on a river beach called Moore's Ford near Monroe Township. April 2, 2005 is a Saturday.I heard from the radio the day before that this morning the black church in Monroe had a commemorative assembly for the "Moore Beach Incident", and then marched to Moore Beach, where there was a memorial service.When I woke up in the morning, it was a windy day unique to early spring, and the bamboo forest in front of the house was all bowed.We had decided to go the night before, and now, listening to the wind rattling the house, we got in the car anyway.

There is a website on the Internet for the nonprofit Moore Beach Memorial Society.As a special website, its introduction to the event itself is too brief, with a total of ten sentences without any details. In the car, we chatted and said, no wonder, it happened sixty years ago, and the details naturally disappeared.Besides, the several KKK murders we were familiar with all happened during the climax of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.At that time, the entire United States was highly excited, watching several southern states at the turning point.If something happens, it is a major national case.And this case happened too early, and it was in a remote southern town.Obscurity is understandable if you think about it.

There is no photo of the victim on the website, but there is a white child.The annotation of the photo is that he is a witness who witnessed the tragedy.The child left a deep impression on me, because the child had a sweet smile and innocent eyes.His name is easy to remember: Clinton Adams. We deliberately went earlier and walked around the town first.Although it was a windy day, it was sunny.Between gusts of wind, Monroe in the sun is very warm.The rustic small shops are lined up one after another, still in the traditional form.It seems that the town has not been defeated by modern chain shopping malls, and the cultural accumulation of two hundred years is still there.We have always liked to visit small towns, walking on the small streets, looking at leisurely, and always let ourselves relax.

But it didn't take long, at the meeting of the black church, we learned that for many years, the town had hidden a deep danger under the relaxed appearance. The speaker at the rally was a black state congressman.He wears glasses, and his speeches are captivating to the audience.I noticed that, very special, he wore a badge of Martin Luther King Jr. on his chest.He told his Monroe story.He was a young civil rights activist in the sixties.Once when he came to Monroe for an event, a local black man who received him said to him, if you want to come to this town in the future, give us a call first, and we will go to more people and pick you up halfway.Then tell him that there was a "Moore Beach incident" here twenty years ago.In the black community, fear still looms large.The black man said to him, we don't want you to be such a victim.

It was the first time the state legislator had heard of the case, and even though it had been twenty years since he stood on Monroe's land, he was still taken aback.Because during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, in some areas where KKK activities were rampant, the situation of activists like him could suddenly become very dangerous. He also said that until 1981, blacks in Monroe marched for civil rights, and there were confrontations with some KKK members, and the scene was very tense.He pointed to a black man named Bob sitting next to us and said that Bob was kidnapped by the KKK for six hours, and we all thought he had been killed.

It's basically a black man's party.Many white people also came, and nearly half of them were journalists.The state lawmaker said they've been gathering evidence, and he said we're missing a lot of details.Then he gave some examples.Just then, a white woman sitting two rows behind us raised her hand and said that my father had dictated what he had witnessed as "the Moore Shoal incident."The details you mentioned are all there. The state legislator asked, "What's your father's name?" She replied: "Clinton Adams." "That kid!" I couldn't help calling out softly.It was the kid, the sweet, innocent-eyed white kid.

The woman introduced herself as Adams' eldest daughter, Cindy. She lives in Florida and drove all night just to support the rally and to see "Moore Beach".She pointed to an elderly woman beside her and said, This is my father's sister. During the parade, Adams' sister was in the car, and we kept walking with Cindy, asking curious questions. 2. Monroe 60 years ago We are deeply moved by Adams' story, and his Monroe story takes us to the deeper bottom of the American South. Clinton Adams grew up in a poor white family. In 1946, he was ten years old. At that time, poor farmers in the American South had even more hopeless prospects than in the colonial era.Because in the colonial era, even in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were many lands and few lands, and immigrants could be allocated land without compensation.However, in 1946, the annexation of cultivated land was basically completed.For various reasons, some people sold their land and became extremely poor, while other farmers became rich.There were a large number of itinerant tenant farmers without their own residences in the South, both black and white.At that time, President Roosevelt's "New Deal" had already begun. However, the welfare policy for the poor was only a concept, a policy that was gradually being implemented, and it was far from reaching the truly poor rural bottom.In the United States under the federal system, the power of the federal government was very small at that time, and the gaps between regions were very large.

Southern white people like the Adams family worked with blacks and were neighbors with blacks, and they had deep feelings and friendships. 1946 was the time when World War II had just ended.George, who is black, has just been discharged with honors after serving five years in the army in Australia and North Africa.Adams has always liked George and regards him as his best friend.On George's way home from retirement, it was Adams who accompanied him home.George was very happy on the road, telling Adams how proud he was to serve his country. Adams' father worked hard all year round and could never make enough to support his family.Around Adams, poor people abound.Adams' good friend Emerson is also a poor man.Emerson's father had a violent temper and beat him half to death when he lost his temper.Ten-year-olds like them have to work, so they can only find time to go to school.The result was intermittent, and I didn't even learn to recognize words.

In the winter of that year, one night in February 1946, Adams' father, utterly weary and hopeless with life, hanged himself.The next morning, hearing desperate screams, the first person to come to help was the black neighbor George Dorsey. During these days, George gave them a lot of help, and the family gradually got through the difficulties.After that, both Adams and his sister had to shoulder the burden of life and "work like a mule". On July 25, 1946, Adams and Emerson were going to go to Moore Beach to herd cattle together. A few days ago, something happened nearby.Black Roger heard that a white farmer was having an affair with his wife, and the two had a big quarrel. In a rage, Roger stabbed the other party with a pocket knife, and was arrested by the police and awaiting trial in prison.When Adams and Emerson were walking towards the river, they didn't know that in the city, Harrison, the owner of the manor, paid six hundred dollars under the pretext of asking people to work in the field, and issued bail for Roger.Roger is George's brother-in-law. Before Harrison went to the prison, he specially called the George couple and George's sister and asked them to go with him.

The two children, Adams and Emerson, led the cattle and finally came to Moore Beach.This is the beach of the Appalachian River.This river is the boundary river between Walton County and neighboring counties to which Monroe Township belongs.It is the edge of this administrative district.Even today, the path leading to Moore Beach is still very deserted. There are some sporadic mansions on both sides of the road, but the houses are far away from each other. It can be seen that they are all newly built in recent years.On the way to the parade, I walked for an hour and didn't see a few cars passing by.As for Moore Beach, it is still a deserted place today.One can imagine how desolate it was sixty years ago. It was almost dusk and the children were going home.At this moment, they heard a car approaching, with screams that almost didn't sound like human voices.The two children were so frightened that they instinctively lay down in the grass, covering themselves with the tall grass.What Adams saw made him heartbroken.A group of the KKK, about a dozen people, kidnapped his black friend George Dorsey.Beside him are his wife May, sister Dorothy and brother-in-law Roger.Most of these KKKs are from Monroe, and Adams knows them all.He watched as four black men were tied up and beaten before the last KKK drew his pistol and shot them down.Then these men rushed forward, using pistols and long guns, and fired hundreds of bullets at the four victims, including Harrison.An autopsy later revealed sixty-eight bullet holes in one of the victims alone.What puzzled Adams was that a police patrol car was parked next to the murderers' cars. After the murderer finally left, they climbed out of the grass and walked to the scene tremblingly.Adams no longer recognized his good friend.Blood was still gurgling, and their faces had been shattered.Shocked and frightened, the two children stumbled home.On the way, Adams took his horse.On his way home alone, he meets one of the killers.The man blocked his tractor on the path leading to Moore Beach, blocking any passing vehicles.At the moment, he is going to retrieve his tractor.Adams met him face to face.The ten-year-old child couldn't hide the horror on his face at all. Instead of saying hello to him as usual, he rode home crazily to find his mother as if he had seen a devil. Four black people died: George Dorsey (George Dorsey) 28 years old, wife (Mae) 24 years old, sister Dorothy (Dorothy) 20 years old, brother-in-law Roger Malcom (Roger Malcom) At 24, Dorothy was pregnant, seven months pregnant with her baby. Although it is a remote town in the south, it is different from what we imagined. After the incident happened, it immediately shocked the whole country.President Truman was outraged by the case in this small Georgia town, and he immediately ordered the FBI to investigate.He wants criminals to be convicted and punished. President Truman was born in a historical slave state where racism was common. When he was born, slavery had been abolished only 20 years ago, and his elders had owned slaves.So historians say it shouldn't be a surprise that President Truman was a racist.However, since Truman became a senator, he has shown great concern for black civil rights.He firmly advocated and supported "anti-lynching legislation" and opposed racism.Just in 1946, just after World War II, President Truman established the Civil Rights Commission to investigate the situation of civil rights in the country, especially the situation of blacks.This committee later submitted the famous "1947 Civil Rights Report".Twenty-three days before the "Moore Beach Incident", Congress had just passed the anti-racial discrimination "1946 Civil Rights Act". It can be said that this was the initial starting point of the black civil rights movement that surged in the 1960s.But precisely because it is the starting point, in several extreme southern states, the environment for defending black civil rights is far from mature.States in the United States are self-governing, and the federal government has nothing to do with it. The rise of the KKK was due to the dissatisfaction of the southern people with the northern invasion after the Civil War.However, after the KKK went to terrorist violence, the white people in the south also began to feel disgusted. Most of them had racial prejudice, but they did not approve of terrorist activities.More and more people are moving away from the KKK.However, the characteristic of terrorist activities is that a terrorist organization with a small number of people is enough to deter a region. After a large-scale investigation, the case entered the "grand jury stage" before the prosecution.A black kid testified at the grand jury that on the day it happened, he heard some people talking and laughing as they prepared the rope for the lynching.Although he was only an indirect witness, he was still kidnapped by the KKK afterwards and beaten to the last breath.After recovering slightly, he immediately fled to Atlanta, where he remained anonymous. Also involved in the investigation was the Georgia State Bureau of Investigation.Southern local officials at that time were very different from federal officials.The Adams home was near the scene of the crime, and shortly after the incident, a member of the State Bureau of Investigation came to the Adams home with Howard, a local policeman, and asked his mother if he had heard anything.Adams had been complaining about his good friend George. He couldn't hold back, and rushed over from one side and said: "I know who did it!" Then, he narrated the whole process in detail. Constable Howard is an acquaintance of the Adams family.After Adams' father committed suicide at the beginning of the year, George rushed to the town to call the police station, and it was Howard who dealt with it. Seeing that Adams was very sad, he talked to him for a long time to comfort him.The little boy felt close to him.Howard was silent now.After Adams finished speaking, he waved at the side: "Son, come here." What Howard said, Adams will never forget in his life.He put his hand on Adams' shoulder and said to him, "Let me tell you a little secret. Don't tell anyone. All I can do is arrest the few people you saw, but I can't catch all of them." This gang is in jail. The ones I can't catch, may come back and kill you, your mom, and your siblings. Your family is in danger, and now I ask you, forget what you saw, forever Don't say it either." Terror ultimately blocked all witnesses and likely the grand jury as well.They may not lack conscience and courage, just like Adams, but they want to protect the lives of themselves and their families.The power to prosecute criminal cases is vested at the state level.The federal government can only participate in the investigation and has no power to prosecute.Efforts to seek justice ultimately failed. The case went to a grand jury, but was not indicted.Throughout the neighborhood, including where our family now lives, the black community has remained in a state of deep terror ever since.At the funerals of the four victims, some relatives and friends were afraid to attend, and those who came were silent and did not dare to express anything about the murder.The victims were hastily buried, and gradually no one remembered where their graves were. This is Georgia sixty years ago, and this is the small town of Monroe sixty years ago. 3. A Life of Escape On July 25, 1946, the terrified ten-year-old boy on horseback in the twilight had no idea that the "Moore Beach incident" would change his life forever. Such a horrible childhood experience and strong stimulation caused Adams to have frequent nightmares, which could not be stopped for decades. Not only that.Soon, a KKK manor owner came and asked the family to be his tenants. "As long as you're here with me, I promise you won't get into trouble because of what this kid 'saw'." This was the first threat their family received.Since then, the family has worked hard there for very little money.His mother advised him to endure it, because of the potential danger.Adams understood it himself.Even if he doesn't understand, he can often meet those murderers nearby.When the four eyes meet, it is really "silence is better than sound at this time". A black tractor driver who liked Adams taught him to drive a tractor. They should have forgotten about him, Adams thought a few years later.He tried to get away from that farm and make more money with his skills.But soon two local policemen came to him and told him that if he didn't go back, the manor owner said, "the safety of their family cannot be guaranteed."He had to go back. Eight full years have passed, and when Adams just turned eighteen, the policeman Howard found him and said to him meaningfully, I think you should join the army. And just like that, Adams enlisted and left.Two years away, Adams had a completely different life experience. After retiring and returning home in 1956, the young Adams thought, he had been silent for a decade, and anyway, those terrible things were over.Everyone forgets about it.Those KKKs shouldn't bother him because of what he saw ten years ago.But he was wrong again. As soon as he got home, two policemen came to him again and told him that you always make some people feel nervous when you hang around like this.You'd better leave. So, twenty-year-old Adams left Monroe.However, the "Moore Beach incident" did not leave Adams. From then on, Adams began his escape life.No matter where he went, it would not be long before warnings from the KKK identity followed, threatening him to leave. The year he left Monroe, Adams met his future wife, Marjorie.Marjorie had just been divorced and had a girl who had just turned one year old.This girl is Cindy.Cindy told us that, to her, her father was Adams. "What a great dad he was!" recalls Cindy, who as a child knew only that their family was forever moving.She still remembers that when she was very young, her mother pushed her awake once in the middle of the night.The parents hurriedly filled the car with things that could be loaded in the car, and left a lot of things at home, and left like running away. The horror experience of childhood brought real fear to Adams.Adams was a responsible child from an early age.He had sworn to himself a secrecy, felt a responsibility to keep his mother and siblings safe, and now he had to protect his wife and children. Cindy said her mother later told her that from the beginning she knew intuitively that there was something "big" Adams was keeping from her.He often wakes up from nightmares in the middle of the night, exclaiming.Asked, he always refused to say.Of course, there is also their inexplicable frequent moving.Once Marjorie couldn't help but ask, can't we just settle down?Adams blurted out, "As long as they're like that, we can't settle." Marjorie didn't ask further.Finally, after another overnight escape, Adams finally told his wife the story of his childhood. Together with Cindy, they have six children.But because of the constant flow, even if you have a good job, you can't keep it.They have always been poor. So poor that sometimes I can only live in the car.But they have a harmonious family, and the children are good children.Fortunately, the United States is changing, and the South is also changing.At least, the children of the poor can go to high school for free.Of course, because they are always on the move, children cannot have fixed schools, teachers and classmates, and cannot have stable friendships with children.The extraordinary childhood experience hurt Adams' children deeply. Some people may think that the South has undergone fundamental changes since the 1960s, and the KKK has been cast aside by the public. Even in Monroe, the KKK has gradually withdrawn from the stage as a "conspicuous culture". Why did Adams flee?But as a party, Adams saw it clearly.For the KKK, the clearer the situation, the more likely they will be prosecuted and convicted.They became more and more worried about Adams' presence.The Adams family is also more dangerous.He knew very well that he was facing a group of desperadoes.Their cruelty, he had already seen when he was ten years old. In this way, for decades, the Adams family first traveled in various cities in the state, hoping not to be too far away from Monroe and their mother's home. Later, they had to leave Georgia and began to move and flee in different states. Cindy told us: "Our family was also a victim of Moore Beach. It's just that we are victimized differently. " 4. One Man's War In such a difficult life, Adams went from a child to a young man, a middle-aged man, and approaching old age.Not only was he having nightmares, not only was he fleeing under the persecution of the KKK, but he was also thinking about the "Moore Beach incident" that followed him all his life, although it went away year after year.When he was just growing up, he just wanted to forget.It was too tragic. He couldn't bear such a mental burden, and instinctively wanted to unload it. But he can't forget. He has suffered from nightmares at night for decades.Later, after having his own family and children, he began to understand more deeply the tragedy of George's mother suddenly losing two children and the family being destroyed.Adams began to think like an adult.He is outraged that justice has not been served and that the thugs have not been brought to justice.He also told his wife that he always felt guilty that he watched George being killed and that he just hid and did nothing.He hated himself for being so cowardly, for not standing up to stop the atrocities and saving his big friend.This feeling of remorse is getting stronger and stronger.His wife comforted him and said, You have no responsibility, you are only ten years old.You can't save George by standing up.But Marjorie knew that in his heart, Adams was a person with strong traditional moral values ​​and high demands on his own character.Recalling the "Moore Beach incident", he always blamed himself very much, and always felt that he was a shame in his life because he would not save himself. It was a soul-stirring war in one's heart.Adams felt fear and had to bear the responsibility of protecting his family, but he was also deeply tortured by his own conscience and sense of justice.For decades, he struggled. Decades have passed since the "Moore Beach incident". When George died, he left behind a two-year-old child who was adopted far away.No one brings up old things again.Apart from the thugs, the only real witnesses to the tragedy were Adams and Emerson. Emerson died when he was still very young.When the news of Emerson's death came, Adams felt extremely sad. He knew that he was the only historical witness of the "Moore Beach Incident". When Adams was visiting his mother in Monroe, he stopped by the home of Harrison, one of the killers.Harrison was sitting in a chair by the door.Adams suddenly couldn't help it, and decided to go over and have a direct conversation for a few minutes.Adams stood in front of Harrison and asked bluntly, why do you KKK keep staring at me?Harrison sneered and said, has anyone moved you all these years?Adams replied, no, but wherever I go, you guys are always staring at me and threatening me.Harrison went on to say that as long as you keep your mouth shut, no one will touch you. At this moment, Adams decided to ask the murderer the question that had always puzzled him. He knew that Roger had stabbed a white man during an argument. "But why did you kill George?! He was the kindest man I ever saw. He helped our family so much after my father died. He was a good man!" Over the years, a strange threatening and threatened relationship has been maintained between the previous killers and this witness.What Harrison didn't expect was that Adams would suddenly be confronted with a direct question about murder.However, perhaps over the years, he thought he could hold Adams in his hands.So he arrogantly replied: "He was a good nigger before he joined the army. But when he came back he thought he could be like us." Adams turned and walked away.He finally confirmed how badly George died— He did nothing wrong, he didn't hurt anyone.He was killed simply because his skin was black.Years of hurt turned to anger.He felt his long-held secret bursting out of his chest.But thinking of the danger he might bring to his family, he suppressed his impulse again. In 1989, the Adams family moved to Florida.Years of fleeing made him physically and mentally exhausted.They raised six children, and life was still tight.Adams was uneducated and had the most strenuous physical work.But he always did his best to support his family. Unfortunately, on November 9 of that year, Adams lost a leg and the ability to work in an accidental work injury.Losing a leg is a major blow to anyone and a turning point in life.Adams lay on the hospital bed, the wound slowly healing.Recalling that the god of death passed by, he believed that if God hadn't held his shoulders with both hands at that time, he would have gone with the god of death.Lying on the bed, Adams learned from the painful experience and reviewed his life.He finally realized that although he was not very old, he might suddenly leave this world at some point.He asked himself, what else must he do?What else does he owe, what else makes him deeply regret in this life? At that time, the United States had a complete labor insurance system.During his recuperation period, in order to strive for the maximum insurance compensation, the lawyer asked him about his personal history during the conversation, asking questions one after another.He avoided the "Moore Beach incident", but the life of fleeing seemed to be experienced again. The incident that changed his life appeared vividly in his mind, and the long-term memory was violently hitting him. Unwillingness, anger, remorse, and desire for justice are all strongly intertwined and blocked in his chest.Suddenly, he understood that the testimony he had buried in his heart for decades was unstoppable to stand up and stand in the sun. Adams eventually received a settlement.The money is enough for him to live very well without working.At this time, he had secretly made up his mind.He told his astonished wife that he was buying a house.For the first time in their lives, the Adamses owned a house of their own.In this little house of his own he called his wife and all his children together.Adams said he had something important to tell them. I still remember Cindy's long blond hair being blown flying in the high wind. In the parade to Moore Beach, she told us her father's story.Speaking of this, she smiled and said: "Those years when our family kept moving, suddenly came to me. Although my parents kept making up all kinds of reasons for us to move, at this moment, I looked at my father's serious face, as if suddenly realized , I said to myself, God! Dad, don't be a fugitive murderer!" Then, looking into the distance, Cindy stood down and lit a cigarette.Her eyes became serious.This is the first time I've heard my father's story, she said.I feel sorry for these black people and I would pay any price for justice to be done.I feel sorry for that little ten year old boy, and I feel sorry for his whole life.What a man he is!Looking back on our family's years of experience, I am even more outraged, what is this!The murderer settled down, but our family has been on the run. Adams told the family he decided to make his testimony public.He's going out to the public, he's willing to be interviewed by the media, he's going to testify to the FBI and the judiciary.He will no longer flee, he will stand still, turn round, and face his opponent.What danger this would pose to the whole family, he did not know.He had to tell them his decision in advance.He loves them, but he has to stand up and has no choice. Cindy and all his kids, seriously, Dad, we have your back.Marjorie is well aware of Adams' guilt towards George for decades. At this moment, she only said one sentence: I believe that George will be proud of your choice today! In his heart, Adams said, justice and goodness finally triumphed over the fear of the threat of evil.He felt that God had finally channeled out the best things in his heart. Adams finally found himself before the "Moore Beach Incident". The boy who was natural, pure in heart as in eyes. 5. A person's courage can revive history Adams walked into the FBI. The media is very powerful, and soon revealed the news that the FBI may restart the investigation of the case, and asked Adams for an interview.On the TV station, Adams disclosed all the truth about the "Moore Beach incident" he had seen. Adams was immediately threatened by various threats.For example, the dead Harrison had a son who was in prison.He immediately sent a message from the prison: As soon as he gets out of prison, he will come to him to settle accounts.Adams didn't back down. It is already warm spring.However, this day was extremely cold.We walked silently in the cold wind and came to Moore Beach.The old bridge on the river beach has disappeared, and a new bridge has been built beside it.Standing on the bridge, Cindy held tightly to her aunt, Adams' older sister.It seemed that Cindy was a little nervous, it was her first time here.Later, she went down to the river beach.Watching her figure gradually disappear into the golden thatched grass on the river beach, we did not follow.We think that this is the time for her to experience her father's feelings alone. At the end of the bridge, Adams' sister pointed to the direction where Cindy went down and told us that she and her mother had been here the day after the tragedy. The victims had been carried away and there was blood everywhere.She picked up a tooth that had been knocked out.Mom was so scared that she threw it away quickly.The nearby trees were riddled with bullet holes. Facing the whole of America, Adams not only testified for the tragedy itself, but also carefully recalled the friends in his memory.Adams said that the four victims were not four names, they were real people.He tells about his childhood friend George.He told how after his father died, George came every day to help his mother with the heavy work. One day, George helped their family chop a lot of firewood, and his mother must keep him for dinner.George took his own plate, and went out to eat on the woodpile, but could not be persuaded to come in.Both ten-year-old Adams and his mother were deeply sorry, which Adams remembers to this day.Black people in Monroe in 1946, he said, took it for granted that he should not be treated as an equal to his white neighbors, even though they were such good friends.But George, who has returned from serving in the army for five years, has seen the world and broadened his horizons.Unconsciously, he was a little different from the local blacks.He has seen through the stupidity and arrogance of those KKKs at a glance, and there must be a little bit of self-esteem in his eyes that he didn't have before.However, just for such a little different feeling, he was killed by the KKK.After his death, witnesses were threatened and justice was delayed.Adams told everyone that this was the Monroe and the South of that era. Adams did everything possible to find and publish photos of three of the four victims.George's photograph was presumably recovered from an army register.Although the old photos have been blurred, it can still be clearly seen that the young George is wearing a proud American military uniform and smiling happily. Adams' efforts to seek justice for his black friends, Touched and inspired the people of the Monroe neighborhood to form this "Moore Beach Memorial Society".At the intersection near Moore Beach, they established a descriptive signboard for the historic monument.A permanent memorial was also erected to the four victims.It was a stele engraved with the names of the victims and a requiem cross.They found the burial site of three of the victims, including that of George Dorsey. On Veterans Day in 1999, the U.S. military held a grand military burial ceremony for George.To commemorate this "World War II" veteran.He was killed by mobs just nine months after he returned from the war. During the height of the civil rights movement in the sixties, there were some notable murders, all of which were so-called "hate crimes."Several black and civil rights workers were killed in the South.For similar reasons, several criminal offenses were unsuccessfully prosecuted that year.In recent years, these cases have been reopened in various states, and some cases have even been successfully prosecuted and convicted.Although forty years have passed, these young criminals are now old people.But here, murder is murder.Killing is a personal act, and any reason for the political climate cannot be an excuse for personal abuse and murder.There is no statute of limitations for murder charges. The "Moore Beach incident" was 20 years earlier than the general civil rights case, and the murderers were not punished by law.Witness evidence is being lost.Now sixty years later, it is even more difficult to re-prosecute, and the witness testimony of only one person is not enough.However, under the impetus of civil rights organizations and some Georgia politicians, in 2001, the Georgia State Legislature passed a resolution signed by the Governor, and the State Bureau of Investigation reopened the investigation of the "Moore Beach Incident". Now, the status of this case is open investigation and unresolved.Prosecutions are underway.While most of the mobsters were dead, two suspects are still alive.Today's rallies and marches are an expression to promote the prosecution of this case: seeking justice is not revenge, but justice for the victims. 假如罪恶不予追究，它带来的恐惧永远不会真正消除。只要还有一个罪犯活着，这样的努力就不会放弃。 前一天刚刚下过大雨，阿巴拉契河水在湍急地冲向下游。辛迪从摩尔滩上来，显得脸色苍白。我们回到桥上，所有的人手拉着手，一起站在风中祈祷，为死难者安魂。我们闭上眼睛，微微低下头。 大风拂过，我的眼前，出现了穿着军装的黑人士兵乔治，他一只手搭着军用包，高兴地笑着，往家走去；另一只手里，牵着一个十岁的白人小男孩。一段完全被湮没的历史，那四个受害者就因为这个孩子生长起来的勇气，从黑暗中这样走出来了。 他们将留在阳光里，再也不会回到黑暗中。门罗和南方一代代的孩子们，将继承他们以苦难留下的精神遗产，会有一个全新的生活。