Rosewood :Fiction & Fact
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The Rosewood incident began January 1st, 1923, and eventually culminated with the burning of the small predominantly Negro town six days later. And though the Rosewood riots were unquestionably racially motivated, it should also be noted that these types of incidents were very rare in American history. Between 1900 and 1964, there were only 31 (at least, that's all I could find >>
Link). And of those 31 ... 77% were a direct consequence of - provoked by - either a sexual assault or a murder (usually a police officer).
Note: There was no "massacre" in any of the two Rosewood riots.
Archived newspaper article supporting this version...
LINK
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Now let’s get to the 1923 Rosewood Riots: Fiction & Fact
Fiction: The town of Rosewood (Florida) in 1923 was an entirely Negro town and boasted a population of about 300 or more.
Fact: In the book The Chronological History of the Negro, a far left-leaning, pro-integration recounting of Negro experiences from the 1700s and up until 1968, it describes Rosewood as “mostly Negro”, therefore, there were some Americans living in the community. The book also tells us there were
“six buildings” burned down in the town (the town had just recently been vacated due to news of impending mob violence). And after the buildings were burned then, a few days later,
“the 12 remaining structures” were burned. The 12 structures were obviously residences (homes). Doing the simple math here, it tells most likely there were only seven to eight black families living in Rosewood, and maybe four to five white families. The typical black family back then would have consisted of about six or seven. That would put the Negro population of Rosewood at approximately 50 to 56, and an adult black male population at seven to eight or maybe nine.
Note: Despite Wikipedia's claim (produced from someone I consider to be an unreliable source --Maxine Jones) that Sumner and Rosewood had a combined population of "344 blacks and 294 whites", there is no existing census data that I could find to support this claim. Rosewood shared a census tract with Sumner, so there is no way of knowing exactly how many people (White or Black) lived in Rosewood. However, the "12 structures", or homes, in Rosewood gives a pretty accurate clue. Americans were said to be less than half of the Negro population in Rosewood, so that would put the American population at maybe 30 to 40 (4 or 5 families) ...and make the total Rosewood population ( white & black) somewhere between 85 to 95 people. (Of further note is that there is no way to find out if all 12 homes in Rosewood were actually occupied January 1, 1923).
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Fiction: From Wikipedia:
"South, Florida had imposed legal racial segregation under Jim Crow laws, requiring separate black and white public facilities and transportation.[6] Blacks and whites created their own community centers: in 1920, the residents of Rosewood were mostly self-sufficient. They had three churches, a school, a large Masonic Hall, a turpentine mill, a sugarcane mill, a baseball team named the Rosewood Stars, and two general stores, one of which was white-owned."
Fact : "Jim Crow laws" : South Florida, as well as the entire country, was actually operating under Plessy v. Ferguson (1896 Supreme Court decision allowing for the separation of the races). One distinct people living separate from another distinct people was the established norm in America at that time. It was also the established norm throughout human history. Blacks were a free people, free to build their own towns, their own cities and their own industries; or colonize a place in the vast expanse of unsettled land in America (e.g. the Mormons). Regarding the buildings in Rosewood, this has already been covered. There were "six buildings" burned, the "six" being the total structures in Rosewood that were not homes. The quote above indicates there were nine structures in Rosewood that were non-residences. The existing structures in Rosewood at that time were:: Two churches (white and black); two schools (white and black); a likely abandoned turpentine mill ; and only one daily operating business, which was the general store operated by a white male (John Wright).
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Fiction: The railroad stopped in Rosewood.
Fact: The Railroad did not have a regularly scheduled stop in Rosewood in 1923.
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Fiction: Mrs. Sarah Carrier (Negro-American) worked as a maid/ laundress for Mrs. Fannie Taylor and was going to Mrs. Taylor's home (with her 7-year-old daughter Philomena) on the day of the assault. As Mrs. carier was approaching the Taylor home on that fateful day, she witnessed a "white guy" exiting Mrs. Taylor's premises. Many years later, Philomena told her son, Arnett Doctor, that she also had seen the white guy that day coming out of Mrs. Taylor's home. Arnett Doctor then gave this information to freelance (unemployed?) reporter Gary Moore, who then wrote a revised version to the Rosewood riots in 1982.
Fact: Unfortunately, there is no way of finding out the truth as to whether Sara Carrier (with her daughter Philomena) was in Sumner on the day of the assault, or even if she worked as a maid/laundress for the Taylors. And we'll also ignore here whether the Taylors could even afford a maid/laundress (Mr. Taylor likely worked, like most men in the area, at the sawmill in Sumner for about $1.00 a day). But let's consider this: The revised version of the Rosewood incident first appeared in 1982 (invented by freelance reporter Gary Moore, who used as far as I know, only one source, which was Arnett Doctor)), alleges Fannie Taylor had a "white lover" and it was he who did the violence to her - not the Negro escaped convict.
However, in order for the revised version to work, the revisionists had to invent an eyewitness to the "white lover". Magically then, Sarah Carrier and her 7-year-old daughter Philomena are added to the scene as eyewitnesses. This is just way too coincidental for me to buy into. Also, add the fact that there is no logical reason for the white lover to be fleeing for his dear life --just because he struck his lover in a quarrel? -- makes the "white lover" version too unbelievable. Finally, here's what Philomena Goins Doctor had to say about her son and Gary Moore's 'new' version to Rosewood:
" [Philomena] ... called her family members [after watching 60 Minutes recreate Arnett Doctor and Gary Moore's new version of Rosewood] and declared Moore's story and Ed Bradley's television exposé were full of lies." wikipedia
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Fiction: An American female, Fannie Taylor, was in fact attacked ... but made up a story about her attacker being a Negro male. It was really her “white” lover who beat her up. However, since Fannie was married she would not be able to explain the bruises to her husband when he arrived home from work. Hence, the “made-up story”.
Fact :
On the day of the home invasion / assault, a Negro male, Jesse Hunter, had escaped from a prison work detail in the vicinity of Rosewood. The fugitive would have been penniless and, naturally, in need of money to get out of the Rosewood area. Strong-arming a young American female home alone would be an obvious source to obtain some quick money.
Bottom line:: The alleged affair in the new version is simply not to be believed.
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Fiction: Six Negroes, perhaps many more, were murdered -- many of them being lynched. Also, sadistic white people actually cut off body parts of the blacks and took them home for souvenirs.
Fact: According to the book Chronological History of The Negro, as well as every legitimate newspaper account of the incident at that time, and all the way up to 1982,
four Negroes died:: two adult males and two adult females. Also. no legitimate source up until 1982 reporting on the Rosewood incident claimed any of the four Negro victims were dismembered for souvenir body parts, or that anyone had been lynched (hanged). The expanding of black victims, the souvenir body parts and the lynchings all magically appear after 1982.
Day 1, Jan.1st : A couple hours after the assault on Fannie Taylor, an American posse with bloodhounds tracked a scent from Fannie Taylor's home in Sumner to the home of a Negro male, Sam Carter. This piece of information, which is beyond dispute, is of vital importance. Where did the bloodhounds get the scent they tracked to Mr. Carter’s home? They got that scent from the clothes of Fannie Taylor ... which the Negro male left when he physically assaulted her. The bloodhounds, which can track a human scent up to 36 hours after it was left, had no trouble tracking the scent to the residence of Mr. Carter. At Mr. Carter's home is where the scent stopped. The group of armed Americans, ergo, believed Mr. Carter had met with and aided the fugitive to escape by wagon. A rope was tied around Mr. Carter's neck and he was threatened with being hanged if he didn’t reveal what he knew. However, Mr. Carter remained uncooperative and, much to the consternation of the posse, an American (unknown ) shot and killed him with a single gunshot to the body (or head). Mr. Carter was left where he fell and the mob moved on (Mr. Carter was NOT hung).
From the official coroner's jury inquest, 1923:
"We the Jury after the examination of the said Sam Carter who being found lying Dead, find that the said Sam Carter came to his Death by being shot by Unknown Party so say we all."
Day 2, Jan 4th : In the evening hours, hearing rumors that the fugitive was at a house in Rosewood, a small group of armed Americans (no way of unknowing how many) descended on the home of Mrs. Sarah Carrier. Two American males went to the front door and knocked loudly, demanding everyone inside come out. NOTE: What happen next is the most important related to the mob attacks on Rosewood.
The two white males who knocked on the Carrier's front door were in fact gunned down. And it was this incident that set the stage for the torching of Rosewood .
Most Likely scenario: Two American males knocked on the door of Mrs. Sarah Carrier's home and demanded everyone inside come out. The fugitive, Jesse Hunter, was inside and likely holding a gun on Mrs. Carrier (And how did Jesse Hunter get to the Carrier's home? There is only one way he could have got there. Sam Carter [who was earlier gunned down] took him there by wagon to hide him). When Mrs. Carrier opened the door the fugitive ambushed the two posse members, shooting them at pointblank range. Gunfire immediately erupted from the posse and Mrs. Carrier was killed in a hail of bullets. The fugitive was also mortally wounded, however, he still returned fire. After a period of time the posse members, running low or out of ammunition, and also not sure if the person in the home who was shooting at them was actually dead, decided to leave and return the next day. Upon returning the following day the two dead posse members are claimed; and also found dead inside the Carrier home are a Negro male and Sarah Carrier.
(Note: It seems highly likely it was Jesse Hunter in the house. If he did assault the white female, and he was taken back to the Sumner jail, ID'd by the white female, he certainly knew, customary with the times, he would have been lynched that very evening. This would have been plenty of incentive for him to fight it out rather then surrendering)Note: There is no known source that positively identified the Negro male found dead in the Carrier home. The new version to the Rosewood Riots claims that the victim was Sylvester Carrier (the old version assumed the dead person was the fugitive Jesse Hunter). The new version states that the two white males who approached the Carrier home did so surreptitiously, then, without warning, kicked down the front door. Then, gazing at a helpless Sarah Carrier, the two white males, for no reason whatsoever (hint, they were racists), gunned her down. Sylvester then retaliated by gunning down the two white males. Obviously, the new version is intending to create a scenario where Sylvester Carrier is defending his house and avenging the senseless and unprovoked murder of his mother, and he dies as a a hero fighting off a raging, murderous mob of white villains. However, a few questions arise with this version. Why would members of the posse gun down Sarah Carrier for no reason, a woman some or many there were likely acquainted with? Why would Sylvester Carrier gun down two white males on his front porch that he likely knew for years? Finally, why would Sylvester Carrier risk the lives of his mother and the children in the house ... by provoking a gunfight with a posse?! None of these actions are logical. The only logical version that fits is the one I gave you above:: The rumor was true about the fugitive Jesse Hunter being inside the home and he ambushed and murdered the two posse members.
Day 3, Jan. 5th. : A large group of Americans (no way of knowing how many) set fire to six buildings in Rosewood. These were not homes. No person (Negro or American) was killed or injured in this incident.
Day 4, Jan. 7th : To avenge the slaughter of the two American males, Americans from nearby towns gathered in Rosewood and burned the remaining 12 structures - specifically the 12 Negro homes. A Negro female, who was apparently suffering from typhoid fever and was bedridden, was burned alive (or escaped the house but died of smoke inhalation) when her house was set afire. Most likely, the ones setting the fire were not aware she was inside.
Note: Wikipedea’s version states that a black male was “shot in the face” and then “hung…”. This alleged incident is another of the many that appear for the first time after 1982. However, NO credible evidence - that I can find - exists to support this claim.
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Fiction: One Negro, James Carrier is known to have been forced to dig is own grave before he was killed.
Fact: LINK
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Fiction: All the Negroes who formerly lived in Rosewood had remained silent about the mob attack over all these years (1923 to 1982) because they decided (by collective telepathy?) that it was just such a terrible event ...that they would all just blot it out from their memories.
Fact: When news of impending mob violence reached Rosewood, all Negroes fled the small town, with the exception of Mrs. Carrier , a couple young kids (actual number unknown) and the fugitive (Jesse Hunter), who was holded up in Mrs. Carrier's home.. Since Mrs. Carrier and the fugitive died in a hail of gunfire from the posse, and the kids were too young to actually recall what happened, there were no others left in the tiny town as an eyewitness to report on the incident.
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So let’s sum up what we have as to the true & ironclad facts concerning Rosewood:
1. Fannie Taylor, an American female, was attacked and beat-up by a Negro-American male.
2. The most likely perpetrator of the attack was Jesse Hunter, who had just escaped from a nearby prison work-crew.
3. According to the book Chronological History of the Negro (published in 1969), and whose sources are newspaper accounts from the Rosewood riots period, stated
"four Negroes and two white people were killed." Only ONE Negro male (Mr. Sam Carter) is known to have been deliberately shot and killed by someone who was certainly an American (white). Three more Negroes, Mrs. Sarah Carrier, fugitive Jesse Hunter, and Miss Lexie Gordon, were also killed. Mrs.Sarah Carrier and Jesse Hunter died in the Carrier home from a hail of gunfire from the posse ... after two posse members were murdered. The other Negro female, Lexie Gordon, stricken with typhoid fever and bedridden, died by fire or smoke inhalation when her home was set afire.
Note: Again, James Carrier was not killed in the Rosewood riots.
He was killed in Sumner.
4. Because a Negro-American killed two [white] posse members, this caused a fury among the local American population, and they took out their rage against the physical structures belonging to Negroes in Rosewood: six buildings and 12 Negro homes were burned.
5. Mr. Sylvester Carrier, whose mother died inside their home, presumably in a hail of gunfire after the killing of the two posse members, according to his nephew, Arnett Doctor, Sylvester was still alive after the Rosewood incident. Arnett Doctor claimed in his interview for the report given to the Florida Board of Regents, their family received Christmas cards from Sylvester many years after the incident (until 1964).
>>>> Proof that Sylvester Carrier was NOT defending his house against white males breaking his door down: "Arnett Doctor [son of Philomena Goins Doctor - whose grandmother was Mrs. Carrier and killed by the posse], in his interview for the report given to the Florida Board of Regents, claimed that his mother received Christmas cards from Sylvester Carrier until 1964" <<<< Ergo, Sylvester Carrier was alive and well after the Rosewood incident. In other words, he was not the black male lying dead in the house with Sarah Carrier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood_massacre (notes) So who was the dead male on the floor with Mrs. Carrier? In my opinion, it had to be the Negro fugitive Jesse Hunter
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6. Two other deaths allegedly related to the Rosewood burning were added after 1982 - likely so those surviving family members could cash in on any settlement that was in the works.
7. The new version to the Rosewood incident was created in 1982 by a freelance reporter, (white male) Gary Moore. Moore relied on Arnet Doctor as his only source. Arnett was the son of Philomena Goins Doctor, who was 7-years-old at the time of the Rosewood incident. Arnett claimed that his mother told him all about the Rosewood incident. However, Arnett’s mother accused him of lying.
" [Philomena Goins] Doctor called her family members [after watching 60 Minutes recreate Arnet Doctor and Gary Moore's 'new version' of Rosewood] and declared Moore's story and Ed Bradley's television exposé were full of lies." wikipedia
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1. http://afgen.com/roswood
