A DAY WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.
I cannot relate to what Tracey Martin and Sabrina Fulton feel for the loss of their child. As the father of four boys I cannot even begin to understand their pain. However even as I struggle to appreciate even some semblance of their agony.
WHAT DID THE JURY DO?
The jury humiliated the Martin family, by rubbing salt in their wounds. That’s justice the American way, remember OJ Simpson? he got off a murder rap yet he was sentenced for stealing his own property and sentenced for the murders he was previously acquitted of. Black people simply cannot get any justice in America, remember the laws which says that a black man has no right a white man have to respect? What has changed? Remember Rosewood in the very state of Florida?
On January 1, 1923 a massacre was carried out in the small, predominately black town of Rosewood in Central Florida. The massacre was instigated by the rumor that a white woman, Fanny Taylor, had been sexually assaulted by a black man in her home in a nearby community. A group of white men, believing this rapist to be a recently escaped convict named Jesse Hunter who was hiding in Rosewood, assembled to capture this man.
Prior this event a series of incidents had stirred racial tensions within Rosewood. During the previous winter of 1922 a white school teacher from Perry had been murdered and on New Years Eve of 1922 there was a Ku Klux Klan rally held in Gainesville, located not far away from Rosewood.
In response to the allegation by Taylor, white men began to search for Jesse Hunter, Aaron Carrier and Sam Carter who were believed to be accomplices. Carrier was captured and incarcerated while Carter was lynched. The white mob suspected Aaron’s cousin, Sylvester Carrier, a Rosewood resident of harboring the fugitive, Jesse Hunter.
On January 4, 1923 a group of 20 to 30 white men approached the Carrier home and shot the family dog. When Sylvester’s mother Sarah came to the porch to confront the mob they shot and killed her. Sylvester defended his home, killing two men and wounding four in the ensuing battle before he too was killed. The remaining survivors fled to the swamps for refuge where many of the African American residents of Rosewood had already retreated, hoping to avoid the rising conflict and increasing racial tension.
The next day the white mob burned the Carrier home before joining with a group of 200 men from surrounding towns who had heard erroneously that a black man had killed two white men. As night descended the mob attacked the town, slaughtering animals and burning buildings. An official report claims six blacks killed along with two whites. Other accounts suggest a larger total. At the end of the carnage only two buildings remained standing, a house and the town general store.
Many of the black residents of Rosewood who fled to the swamps were evacuated on January 6 by two local train conductors, John and William Bryce. Many others were hidden by John Wright, the owner of the general store. Other black residents of Rosewood fled to Gainesville and to northern cities. As a consequence of the massacre, Rosewood became deserted.
The initial report of the Rosewood incident presented less than a month after the massacre claimed there was insufficient evidence for prosecution. Thus no one was charged with any of the Rosewood murders. In 1994, however, as the result of new evidence and renewed interest in the event, the Florida Legislature passed the Rosewood Bill which entitled the nine survivors to $150,000 dollars each in compensation.
Sources:
“Documented History of the Incident Which Occurred at Rosewood, Florida, In January 1923.” The Rosewood Report History, December 22, 1993. http://www.displaysforschools.com/rosewoodrp.html; “Marking Rosewood History.” The Real Rosewood. 2007. http://www.rosewoodflorida.com/;
Nothing has changed, until black people take their future into their own hands there will be many more instances of this. This is nothing new, it is just a continuation of the millions of black people who have been slaughtered in this country to this day.
Black people spend too much time entertaining and being entertained, there are almost 40 million black people in this country and they are almost invisible. I hope those white women are happy with the despicable and shameful decision they made. I hope they are comfortable with the America they have contributed to with their shameful actions.