New book about Harris Neck
Press Release
For more information contact:
Harry F. Burroughs III -- hburroughs1977@gmail.com
Dave Kelly -- dkelly91@hotmail.com
New book about Harris Neck
Justice Delayed, Justice Denied:
The Tragic Story of Harris Neck, Georgia
by
Harry F. Burroughs III and David M. Kelly
Between 1865 and 1942, four generations of former African American slaves and their descendants created and prospered in the self-sufficient community of Harris Neck. According to one community member, “It was a hard life but a good life.” Then, in 1942, officials from the U.S. Department of War, looking for an appropriate site to build an Army airfield, came to McIntosh County, Georgia and met with county leaders. Despite the fact that there were thousands of acres of suitable, undeveloped land in the county, the War Department followed the racially motivated direction of the all-white County Commission and condemned the 2,687 acres of Harris Neck.
The landowners were given just a few weeks to vacate their property. On July 27, 1942, bulldozers arrived and destroyed whatever houses and businesses had not already been moved. The community’s church was almost burned down, and one of its two cemeteries was destroyed, despite a promise to relocate the graves. Then, everything was burned. An entire community and way of life were destroyed, and some 72 families were left homeless. According to community matriarch, Mary Dawley Moran, the Black residents were “treated like animals.”
As the people were building new lives, their one hope was the promise made by the federal government that they could get their land back after World War II. This promise was never kept.
For over 80 years now, Harris Neck descendants have fought for justice. They have tried federal courts, the United States Congress and the Executive Branch. Each of these efforts failed, not because the people had poor proposals for what to do with any reclaimed land but because there has been an almost total lack of interest on the part of all three branches of government. Even at this late hour, members of the Harris Neck Land Trust are still hoping and praying that their Congress or President Biden will do the right thing and honor an 80-year-old promise. While it is their fight, every American should be angry about this historical injustice that must be corrected.
