The North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers (NCABL), together with the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, will introduce the memorial in a public dedication ceremony at 3:40 pm. The marker is located on Market Street, between 16th and 17th streets, a short walk from Mabson’s final resting place in Pine Forest Cemetery.
The text on the highway marker will read “George L. Mabson 1846-1885: Pioneering Black lawyer practiced in N.C. His license granted in 1871. State rep. & senator, civil rights advocate. His grave is 5 blocks N.”
The inscription is short enough to fit on the small metal sign meant to catch the eye of passersby, and at the same time accurate enough to earn the approval of the committee of historians that accepts and rejects marker applications. Yet history is nothing if not complex, and this text can only be, at best, a stand-in for the much larger and richer life Mabson led in his native Wilmington…