This video first appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes, December 11th 1983
Rosewood was once a thriving black community in north Florida near Cedar Key. 92 years ago in 1923, an angry mob of over 1000 whites, obliterated Rosewood, killing as many as 40 people. Ed Bradley goes back in time, through eye-witness testimony, to the “Old South” and reconstructs the day that Rosewood died.
In the mid 80’s, survivors and descendants of the massacre began forming a network called the Rosewood Family Reunion. The group eventually filed the Rosewood Claims Case in the Florida Legislature in 1992. It sued the state for having failed in 1923 to protect Rosewood’s African-American community and eventually won the case. In 1994 Florida became the first U.S. state to compensate survivors and their descendants for damages suffered because of historical racial violence.
The last remaining known survivor of the Rosewood massacre passed away June 12th 2010.
Yikess RT “: Remembering Rosewood – http://t.co/bPK74wZnjb http://t.co/lnibGNydJF”
Words fail me. I am glad that we can remember things like this happening. It may have been a long time ago for some people. But we seem to be able to find time to pay homage to those that died during the Great War (World War 1) which took place 100 years ago. Why we cannot also do the same for those who died in Rosewood is beyond me. Yes, I know the war was a different matter to some people. We seem to forget what hate can do.
Sad and angering, but that was reality for a LOT of folk back in those times. I learned a few years ago of a similar situation that happened back in the day, here in NYC. The White Elite decided they wanted a park just for themselves so they confiscated land from some African American (and a few poor Irish) squatters that were living in a small shanty community in some wilderness in central Manhattan, and voila…Central Park was born. I don’t recall if mass murder was involved, wasn’t really that big of a community of people living there, but it just goes to show when “they” wanted something or didn’t like someone in their direct view, they got it or got rid of it, with no consequence. They have a memorial in Central Park in that area to commemorate the defunct community.
Thanks for this, just found an article on Seneca Village. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/31/arts/a-village-dies-a-park-is-born.html
Always nice to find stuff like this out. Helps feed my genealogy bug 🙂
Damn. I never heard abt this. Gonna read the nyt article abt it.
These types massacres occurred all over the USA Chicago, E. ST. Louis, Tulsa just to name a few. Once reconstructing ended white people started killing us for fun.
thanks a bunch for posting. Part of American history that needs to be told. Also it should be noted that in 1997 John Sinlgeton made a movie about the events that happened there called Rosewood, starring an all star cast of Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle and Ester Rolle. Plus Kanye did a “Rosewood” movement after the Tayler Swift incident. http://www.complex.com/music/2012/09/the-complete-history-of-good-music/rosewood-movement
There’s a movie about this, I might watch it one day