We work to unearth accurate history in the county. Is that important?
YES? Because although myths are often neat stories, people hear them, think they are the truth, and then repeat them to others and rely upon them as if they are truth.
The true stars of the show are the actual people from history. We feel honored to do the work to tell their accurate stories.
Hezekiah Brown
Schoolteacher not lynched
Kelly family members, 1972
New Cut Road well
Mary Elizabeth and Charles Thorne
Related to Charles Carroll
Our nonprofit began as an ad hoc group in response to Maryland’s creation of a Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We soon realized that the story of those people needed the stories of their ancestors, which were largely missing in the county. We became a nonprofit 501(c)(3) in March of 2021 in order to do the work. We were known as Howard County Lynching Truth & Reconciliation, Inc. back then. That website still remains and can be accessed at www.hocoltr.org We never really just did just county lynching history. The Roundtable our nonprofit formed to examine the accurate history of the log home on Main Street solidified our value in the county. We underwent an internal strategic planning process in early 2025 to decide what space best suits our nonprofit given the specialty of what we do. Beginning in 2025, we also became one of the county nonprofits in the Community Services Partnership arena. We receive funding from the Howard County Government to help us do the work of balancing the historical narrative about the county for students, residents and visitors. Our EIN is 86-2894181, and our recent IRS 990-N forms can be found online or by contacting us.
Samples of some of our community impact are depicted below. See the gallery page for more.
Ellicott City Colored School Community Presentation
Co-authors With Panels Inside Log Home Depicting Content From Nonprofit’s Published Book
Visit To County Jail For Media Story
One Book School Presentation Regarding EC Black History
Soil Collection Jar For Jacob Henson, Jr.
Language Co-Written By Nonprofit for Reginald Lewis Museum Permanent Display
Our nonprofit’s next book planned for a Fall 2025 release is titled Our Own Thirty Harriets. Programming is also planned for select book content during the 250th anniversary year of the founding of the United States in 2026.
