In 1909, Richard Robertson, a Black man who was a prisoner in the Mobile County Jail, was kidnapped from the jail with no resistance, taken two blocks away and lynched by a mob of 30 White men.
Robertson was being held for allegedly killing one Mobile County Sheriff's Deputy and injuring another. According to the marker set to be unveiled, Robertson, working as a carpenter in Mobile, had an incident with two white plumbers that required the intervention of the Mobile County Sheriff's Department.
On Saturday, the Mobile County Community Remembrance Project (MCCR), in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), was set to formally unveil a historical marker in downtown Mobile erected by the city of Mobile.
However, that unveiling has now been postponed because of objections from Mobile County Commissioners Connie Hudson and Randall Dueitt, two of the three members of the Mobile County Commission, over the proposed location, the entrance to Mobile County's Government Plaza.
According to reports, Hudson argued in a letter to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson dated June 30 that the entrance to Government Plaza had too much pedestrian traffic for the plaque to be placed there.
Dueitt's objection was based on concerns Robertson could be perceived as being honored for taking the life of a law enforcement officer with a historical marker. Dueitt voiced that objection in a letter obtained by Mobile-based publication Lagniappe to Stimpson.
"It is my strong belief that regardless of circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Robertson, no one should be honored for taking the life of a law enforcement officer," Dueitt wrote in the letter. "I want to be clear that I do not condone in any way the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Robertson, but with my past employment as a sworn law enforcement officer with the city of Mobile and the Mobile County Sheriff's Department, I cannot support the placement of this marker for Robertson at any location, including the entrance of Government Plaza."
According to another report from Mobile's NBC 15, Stimpson had instructed city crews to install the marker near the intersection of Royal and Church Streets, roughly a block from the original proposed location.
However, that drew objections from the MCCR because it violated "strict guidelines."
As of press time, the final location for the historical marker remains in question.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
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