A Eufaula native has plans to open an African American history museum after discovering a piece of deep family history.
From left to right, Stephanie Wylie of the Equal Justice Initiative, Eliza Jane Franklin, Mailk Flournoy, Monchel Hollins, and Lyndon Peterson pose with the soil jar honoring Willie Jenkins at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery on Sunday, June 8.
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The Wellborn House, also known as “Heritage House,” in Eufaula. The venue hosted a soil collection ceremony on Friday, June 9 in honor of Willie Jenkins, a black man who was lynched in 1922.
A news article on January 24, 1922, reporting about the arrests of Dozier McLeod, Amerine Johnson and George "GW" Williams after the lynching of William "Willie" Jenkins.
Eliza Franklin carries a jar containing soil collected from the site where her great-grandfather, Willie Jenkins, was lynched through the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
Eliza Franklin and Stevie Wonder in Inglewood, Calif. on April 28, 2025. Stevie Wonder's mother was born in Eufaula in 1930.
Community honors Barbour County lynching victim with ceremony
The Wellborn House, also known as “Heritage House,” in Eufaula. The venue hosted a soil collection ceremony on Friday, June 9 in honor of Willie Jenkins, a black man who was lynched in 1922.
A jar containing soil collected from the site where Willie Jenkins was lynched sits on display during the Lynching to Liberation Conference at Lakepoint State Park in Eufaula on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
Eliza Jane Franklin, great-granddaughter of Willie Jenkins, speaks during the Lynching to Liberation Conference at Lakepoint State Park in Eufaula on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
Dr. Kimberly Wallace of Emory University speaks during the Lynching to Liberation Conference at Lakepoint State Park in Eufaula on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
Dr. Kimberly Wallace of Emory University speaks during the Lynching to Liberation Conference at Lakepoint State Park in Eufaula on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
A jar containing soil collected from the site where Willie Jenkins was lynched sits in a seat on a charter bus to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
Eliza Franklin carries a jar containing soil collected from the site where her great-grandfather, Willie Jenkins, was lynched through the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
From left to right, Stephanie Wylie of the Equal Justice Initiative, Eliza Jane Franklin, Mailk Flournoy, Monchel Hollins, and Lyndon Peterson pose with the soil jar honoring Willie Jenkins at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery on Sunday, June 8.
Memorial stones hang from the ceiling of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
The Wellborn House, also known as "Heritage House," in Eufaula. The venue hosted a soil collection ceremony on Friday, June 9, 2025, in honor of Willie Jenkins, a black man who was lynched in 1922.
Community members join Eliza Jane Franklin (center), great-granddaughter of Willie Jenkins, during a soil collection ceremony at Heritage House in Eufaula on Friday, June 6. Soil was collected from the site where Jenkins was lynched in 1922 to be delivered to the Equal Justice Intitiative in Montgomery.
