Rosewood Massacre

During post the World War 1 era, racial discrimination and violence spread throughout Florida and the United States. White Americans lashed out against African Americans by using unprecedented violence, and consequently wiping out whole communities. In one of the first documented race riots in America, a violent mob, armed with an excuse, massacred the residents of Rosewood wiping the town off the map.
Nestled among the cypress trees of Levy County, Florida was the picturesque town of Rosewood. The hamlet, founded in 1845, and was a whistle-stop, by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which helped drive business and visitors to Rosewood. Although the town was small, Rosewood was an established community with a post office, a baseball team, two

Once again, there are conflicting reports on the exact events that led up to the first death, but one fact is true across all sources, Sheriff Walker deputized some of the men. However, the mob had escalated out of control. James McElveen, a Sumner resident, recalled the sheriff’s concern when 400 to 500 more men from other areas inundated them, "I don't know what to do," the Sherriff told McElveen, "This crowd wants blood, and they [are] going to have blood” (Jones et. al.). This quote is significant because that blood was of the Rosewood blacksmith, Sam

However, the incident quickly escalated on January 4 when word spread that some residents of Rosewood had barricaded themselves inside the home of Sarah Carrier. The mob focused their fury on this home in particular because inside was Sylvester Carrier. Sylvester, an independent African American, prided himself on being the head of the household and protecting his family at any costs. Once again, there are conflicting reports on who shot first, but at the end of the volley of bullets, four people laid dead. Two African Americans, Sarah Carrier and her son Sylvester Carrier are found dead in the barricaded home, and two white men, Henry Andrew and C. P. "Poly" Wilkerson are also dead outside the home. This event extended throughout the night, burning the Carrier’s home to the ground and claiming the fifth victim, African American Lexie Gordon, was shot while running away from her burning home. Many of the African Americans of Rosewood hastened from their homes in the cover of night and woods praying to not be hunted down like