Heritage Lynching: Violence in Preservation

Recent USC Heritage Conservation graduate Eliza Jane Franklin wrote her master’s thesis on a deeply personal topic: lynching. Not just the act of physical violence that took her great-grandfather’s life in 1922, but “the act of terrorizing and/or controlling individuals’ or a community’s heritage,” which she named “heritage lynching.” In this episode, co-host Trudi Sandmeier speaks with Eliza Jane about her thesis, Re-Membering Heritage Lynchings, Hoop Skirts, and History: A Southernbelle Radical’s Unveiling of the Daughters of Dixie’s Role in the Legacy of Violence in Preservation in Eufaula, AL. Eliza Jane discusses how White people sustain a Lost Cause narrative in her hometown, how she is reclaiming her heritage, and how people can do the same in their own communities.See episode page for photos, resources, and transcript.Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn!