08/19/2026
Register here today! https://oneoxford.org/memorialization-gathering-2026
This year's theme, "Descendants: What We Inherit," explores the many ways people and communities carry history forward. The theme invites participants to consider inheritance in its broadest sense. It includes direct descendants of victims of racial violence, communities shaped by these histories, descendants of enslavers, and all those who live with the ongoing impacts of the past. Together, participants will explore how memory, place, family stories, and community experiences influence the ways we understand and engage history that still impact our lives today. At its heart, the theme asks a simple but powerful question: What do we inherit, and what responsibility do we have to those who come after us?
This year's gathering will take place in Holly Springs, Mississippi, a community with a rich history and a growing network of memorialization, preservation, and storytelling efforts. Participants will have opportunities to learn from local projects and visit sites that demonstrate how communities are preserving history and connecting the past to the present. The gathering will be hosted at Rust College, one of the nation's oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Rust College's long history of education, leadership, and community engagement makes it a meaningful home for conversations about memory, justice, and legacy.
The Memorialization Gathering is an annual convening that brings together people and organizations who are engaged in community-driven memorialization efforts. Now in its third year, the gathering creates space for practitioners to learn from one another, build relationships, and share practical app...
