Special to the Daily World
By: Adriane Harden
MONROE- On Saturday, over 500 people watched the dramatic re-enactment of a gruesome lynching that happened over 65 years ago. The event dramatizes the murders of black sharecroppers George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom, who were pulled out of a car at the bridge, by a group of white men and taken down an embankment and then fired over 100 bullets at them on July 25, 1946, at the Moore’s Ford Bridge at the Walton-Oconee county line. The crime remains unsolved.
Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) along with National and Local community leaders and activists have held the reenactment each year since 2005. Representative Tyrone Brooks, President of GABEO states they will continue to do so until the crime is solved.
According to the narration of the reenactment, the couples were ambushed after Roger Malcom was bonded out of jail where he’d been held for stabbing a prominent white farmer, Barney Hester, who was suspected to be sleeping with his wife. Roger was the intended target, but when George Dorsey, a WWII Veteran, fought to prevent him being taken by the mob, and one of the women recognized someone in the crowd, they were all dragged from the car and murdered. Dorothy Malcom was 7 months pregnant; the baby was cut from her womb and killed.
State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, headed up Saturday’s proceedings at the First African Baptist Church, where keynote speakers were Dr. C.T. Vivian, interim President of the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), Dr. Charles Steele, CEO of SCLC, Ed Dubose of the Georgia State Conference of NAACP and Derrick Boazman of WAOK AM 1380 Atlanta, then quickly moved to the gravesites of the victims and the farmhouse where the altercation between the farmer and Roger Malcom took place.
At the Walton County Courthouse Annex, once the old jailhouse where Malcom was held, the reenactment showed first a political rally by then Gov. Eugene Talmadge followed by the bonding out of Malcom and the fateful trip over the Moore’s Ford Bridge. The reenactment concluded at the bridge with the lynchings, a gospel song and a benediction.
A lifelong Walton County resident, John Patterson, said he was 2 years old when the murder happened and stated no one ever wanted to talk about it and 65 years later none will speak of what happened. He believes there are people in the area that know what happened but are afraid to say anything.
Cherie Fairfax and her Fiancé’ William Brown traveled from Douglasville Georgia to witness the re-enactment. They both stated that the information was thought provoking and educational, but were amazed that so many from out of town participated rather than those of the community. They plan to attend each year.
The case remains open, and there is a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of anyone found guilty of these murders. Anyone with information is asked to contact the GBI at 404-244-2600 or the FBI at 404-679-9000.
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