The Rosewood Massacre

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Not many people know much about a small city by the name of Rosewood. Most have not even heard of it. Well, Rosewood was a small town around an hour away from Gainesville, Florida. What is the significance of Rosewood? Well, it was one of the only towns who was completely ran by African-American people. Sadly enough, at the peak of its advancement, racism took over and caused the town’s downfall. Rosewood was a small town established in 1870 in Levy County. The little settlement was located between Cedar Key and the Gulf of Mexico. Even though Rosewood was a small town made up of a majority of “black folks”, the city still prospered. Matter of fact, it was a place to transport cedar, timber, turpentine, citrus, vegetables and cotton. Most …show more content…
This occurance of events was later titled the Rosewood Massacre. A few days earlier, a white woman accused a black man of raping her. Why? Being the fact that she was a young white woman, everybody in the town, who had authority, believed her. On August 5, four black men were hanged for the alleged rape of this woman all because they fit a description that she made up. This was only the beginning to a chain of events that would eventually erase Rosewood from existence. On February 12, 1921, another black man was lynched for the alleged attack on a white woman. Once again, there was no proof that this young man committed this crime, other than that he was …show more content…
Ironically, not even two months previously, a Klan rally was held in Gainesville. Even though this happened, any place was safer than Rosewood was at that very moment. Fast Forward to February 15, 1923, after two days of investigation to the Rosewood Massacre, a Grand Jury decides that there is “insufficient evidence” to prosecute any of the participating members of the massacre, meaning that there was no proof that any of this actually happened according to the jury. Even though the jury came to the conclusion that there was no evidence, 70 years later, a document was submitted to the Florida Board of Regents detailing every incident that led up to and happened during the Rosewood Massacre. It could be said that Rosewood was one of the thriving black communities in the United States that never really had a true chance to prosper, just as ‘Black Wallstreet’, all prosperous black settlements in those times must come to an end. One could come to the conclusion that if it was not for Fannie Taylor’s lie about who assaulted her, Rosewood could still be standing today. Throughout the year of 1923, Rosewood had absolutely no chance of recovering from the incidents. Not only was it burned down, but many of the blacks that lived there were killed in search of a man that posses were not sure existed. Unfortunately, all we have left to remember the thriving black settlement is the sign at the
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