Between 1903 and 1934, white mobs terrorized and lynched at least six Black people in Manatee and Sarasota counties. On March 8, 1903, a white mob hanged Henry Thomas near Parriah, leaving his body suspended overnight to instill fear in the entire Black community. White residents took the mere allegation…
Shortly after midnight on Friday, November 27, 1925, three white men abducted a 35-year-old Black man named Arthur Henry from his bed at Orange General Hospital. Nearly two weeks later, Mr. Henry’s lifeless body was found in the unincorporated community of Conway, shot through the heart. Hours before his abduction,…
Near this site on November 12, 1914, a white mob lynched a Black man named John Evans. During this era, Black people were burdened by a presumption of guilt that made them vulnerable to mob violence and lynching. Mr. Evans arrived in St. Petersburg from Dunnellon, Florida, and worked for…
On August 19, 1916, African Americans living in the Jonesville and Newberry communities were lynched. At 2:00 a.m., Constable George Wynne, Dr. L.G. Harris, and G.H. Blount drove to Boisey Long’s home in Jonesville to serve a warrant and question him about stolen hogs. Gunfire was exchanged with Long after…
On September 8, 1919, a mob of 50 White men lynched two Black veterans of World War I, Bowman Cook and John Morine. This was during the Red Summer of 1919, when Black veterans returned from the war determined to overcome racism and discrimination at home, and many White communities…
On Election Day, November 3, 1920, black residents in the Ocoee area who owned land and businesses were eager to vote. Despite a terrorizing Ku Klux Klan march through the streets of Orlando three days earlier, Mose Norman and other African Americans attempted to vote. They were turned away. After…