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ADDRESS TO THE INTRODUCTION Good morning. To Dr. Robert Brock, organizers of this conference, guests and friends, thank you for such a warm and generous introduction. First, I would like you to know that I believe I speak for my colleagues in the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators when I say that passing the historic Rosewood bill was our proudest moment. To be successful, it is crucial that any great cause has at least one leader who is profoundly dedicated, and willing to sacrifice all for the accomplishment of the goal. It was a hard fought battle that required tremendous group discipline, and was the result of a cooperative effort of a diverse group of organizations and individuals. We could not have accomplished it alone. We have come to realize that no one ever accomplishes anything of great importance alone. Today, so that you may have a clearer understanding of the challenges we faced in Florida, my preference is to first summarize some key facts of the Rosewood story. Second, I will recount how this issue was brought before the Florida Legislature, and the extremely difficult process of passing HB 591. Finally, I will identify what I believe to be the key component of our success. THE ROSEWOOD STORY Over an eight-day period In January of 1923, the community of Rosewood, Florida was totally destroyed. The entire community was burned out, never to be rebuilt. The incident was all but forgotten until recently, when a few of the survivors were encouraged to come forward and recount their experiences. Rosewood, Florida was a small village of twenty-five to thirty black families located in central Florida, about nine miles east of Cedar Key in Western Levy County. The town was a whistle stop in the Seaboard Airline Railway. It had a population of approximately 355. Rosewood took its name from the abundant red cedars that grew in the area. The town boasted of its three churches, a store, a Masonic lodge, a school, a dozen large two-story homes, and a number of small one-room shanties and its own uniformed baseball team, the Rosewood Stars, that had a home field and competed with other teams in Levy and surrounding counties. Some residents were self employed, but the majority of men in Rosewood were employed at the sawmill located three miles further down the tracks in the white community of Sumner, Florida. Additionally, several of the women of Rosewood worked in domestic capacities for the residents of Sumner. On New Year's Day 1923, twenty-two year old Fannie Taylor, a Sumner housewife, claimed that she had been attacked by a black man in her home. That morning, Rosewood residents, Mrs. Sarah Carrier and her granddaughter Philomena Goins were both laundering clothes in the Taylor home. John Bradley, Fannie Taylor's lover, visited her that morning, while her husband was away, and left shortly before Mrs. Taylor made her allegations. They believed that Fannie Taylor and Mr. Bradley had quarreled, and that Bradley was actually responsible for Fannie Taylor's injuries. An escaped convict, Jessie Hunter, was assumed to be the attacker. A local posse with tracking dogs traced a scent from the Taylor house to Rosewood, where John Bradley had gone seeking help. Over the next four days, the search for Jessie Hunter intensified. Residents from the towns of Sumner and Cedar Key began assaulting citizens in the Rosewood area, regardless of their knowledge of the crime. On January 2, a posse comprised of vigilantes combed the woods and found Sam Carter from Rosewood. They tortured and killed him and his family when they were unable to obtain information as to the whereabouts of Jessie Hunter. Anticipating more trouble, the residents of Rosewood began to gather their children into various safe houses protected by armed men. At the saw mill, the mill's boss tried to keep the Rosewood men working, forbidding them to return home where they might attempt to defend their community. Eventually, the vigilantes became convinced that the fugitive, Jessie Hunter, was hiding in Rosewood. On January 4, an armed posse went to Sylvester Carrier's home looking for Hunter. The posse shot the Carriers' dog and kicked in the front door. The men inside opened fire, instantly killing two of the vigilantes. The men outside began pouring rifle and shotgun fire into the house, killing several people. Because the Carrier home was the refuge for Rosewood's children, the men inside were desperate to defend the house. The shooting continued for more than an hour, and several men in the posse were wounded. The shooting ended only when the posse had expended all of its ammunition. The men of Rosewood fought valiantly to protect their homes and their families, but they were overwhelmed by the large numbers of vigilantes and decided to evacuate their children. In Tallahassee, Florida's Governor Hardee contacted Levy County Sheriff Robert Walker and offered to send the National Guard to Levy County to bring control to the situation. The National Guard had been mobilized in preceding years to keep the peace during civil disturbances. The Guard was not called to Rosewood, however, as Sheriff Walker briefly told the Governor that local authorities had the situation under control, and there was no need to activate the National Guard. That afternoon the governor went hunting. Locals estimated that 26 Rosewood residents, including children, were killed and buried in a mass grave. Several Cedar Key residents refused to participate in the riot. The town barber declined to take part or lend his gun because he said that he did not want "to have his hands wet with blood." Two train conductors are credited by several Rosewood families for evacuating them by train to Gainesville. By Sunday morning, January 7, there were twelve houses left in Rosewood. By that afternoon a crowd of approximately 100-150 gathered and watched as the remaining houses were torched, one by one. On January 29, 1923 Governor Hardee ordered that a special grand jury investigate "certain high crimes that have been committed by unidentified parties or persons" at Rosewood. More than thirteen eyewitnesses testified. Three weeks later, the grand jury stated that they were unable to find any evidence upon which to base indictments. Today there is a small green highway marker with white lettering on State Road 24 that reads Rosewood. What once was the village is now overgrown with trees and vines, and scattered about are a few bricks and parts of buildings. Little other physical evidence remains. THE CHALLENGE OF PASSING HB 591 IN THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE The Rosewood Bill came before the legislature because Arnett Doctor, the son of Philomena Goins, was a childhood friend and played in the same sandbox with his young white friend, Martha Barnett, who later became an attorney. When she learned the story of Rosewood from Mr. Doctor, she believed that this was a wrong that needed addressing and arranged for her firm, Holland and Knight, the largest law firm in Florida, to represent the Rosewood survivors and decendents pro bono. In the summer of 1992, Holland and Knight attorney, Steve Hanlon, began working to gain reparations for the victims of the Rosewood Massacre from the Florida Legislature. In 1993 I filed the Rosewood bill, but it did not pass. However, Speaker of the House Bolly Johnson commissioned a study of the events surrounding the destruction of Rosewood, and appointed an academic research team of distinguished professors to research the Rosewood incident and report its findings to the Legislature. The academic team verified the facts that occurred in Rosewood in 1923. The next year we refiled the claim bill. The Speaker appointed a Special Master who then conducted a hearing lasting serveral days. The Special Master concluded that the State had a moral obligation to compensate the survivors and descendants of Rosewood for the property losses sustained by the destruction of their community. The Special Master's conclusions while helpful, were not the final word on this matter. The State predictably opposed these efforts stating that the claim occurred more than 71 years ago, and was barred by the statute of limitations. Further, the record was incomplete. However, in the Florida legislature these arguments did not carry the day. We asserted that the legislature needed to bring closure to this sad chapter in our history and we therefore had the responsibility of determining whether there was a moral obligation on the part of the State of Florida to compensate the Rosewood survivors. This bill had to pass both houses of the Legislature. Obtaining a hearing in the House was extremely difficult. House members of The Florida Conference of Black State Legislators (FCBSL) agreed to join with the Republicans and oppose the Governors Health Care bill, if the Rosewood bill was not granted a hearing. The Speaker yielded. Ultimately, the bill passed the 120 member House by a vote of 74 - 41. Fifty five democrats joined sixteen republicans in voting yes, while ten democrats and thirty-one republicans voted against the bill. The bill passed over to the Senate. I presented it in committee and on the floor. Other members of the FCBSL provided help, and the bill passed the 40 member Senate by a vote of 26 - 14. Seventeen democrats were joined by nine republicans voting for the bill, while three democrats and eleven republicans voted against the bill. Analysis of the vote shows that the FCBSL was supported in this cause by a diverse group of legislators which included our Jewish members, the republican Cuban delegation, as well as moderate democrats and republicans. The governor signed the bill on May 23, 1994 bringing elation and deep satisfaction to the many persons who had joined together for this cause. The bill appropriated two million dollars and provided four directives. First, it required the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to interview the available witnesses to determine if any criminal proceedings may still be pursued. They did, and it was determined that all known offenders were deceased. Second, the bill established a fund to compensate the Rosewood families who can demonstrate a property loss resulting from the displacement of the Rosewood residents. Third, the bill required compensation for those survivors who sustained emotional trauma resulting from the destruction of Rosewood and the evacuation of the residents. Compensation for property loss and/or emotional trauma was provided to 172 persons ranging from $220 to $450,000. The total amount of compensation was $1.85 million. Finally, the bill established a state university scholarship fund for the families and descendants of the Rosewood residents. Most if not all known eligible descendants as well as other deserving students have received scholarships. THE KEY COMPONENTS OF SUCCESS - PRAY Now let me discuss what I believe that there were four key components that allowed us to pass the Rosewood Bill. We had to P-R-A-Y . . . PRAY! P stands for Political Reality. You have to acknowledge the political realities. We had the right people in the right positions that afforded a politically realistic scenario to pass this bill. We had the influence of the largest law firm in Florida, Holland and Knight, providing every resource necessary to help pass the bill. We had an appointed academic research team and Special Master, both of which reflected the moderate views of the legislature. And finally, we had a democratic led legislature and governor that had sufficient numbers of moderate republicans who would vote for the bill. The timing and scenario were absolutely perfect. R stands for Right the Wrong. In any effort to gain compensation for reparations there must exist a moral obligation to right the wrong. And you must have the ability to convey persistently and passionately to a diverse group of potential supporters a need to right the wrong. Our core team believed in our mission and effectively persuaded others to support our goals. A stands for Aim. In our case, we had only one shot, so we knew we had to aim for the right target. Therefore, we saw a need to narrow the scope of the Rosewood Bill. We had to distinguish this segment of history from every other hate crime that had occurred in the history of Florida. As we all know our state and national histories are replete with examples of race based crimes. We knew that in order to pass, this bill could not create a precedent to pass other claim bills based on historic racial injustices. So because the incident occurred over a week, because government officials knew of the carnage and had ample opportunity to protect its Rosewood citizens and failed to act, because later investigations and questioning of eyewitness failed to find any basis for an indictment, and because the failure to act by Florida's government officials resulted in the residents losing their property, we were able to pass this bill. We found the standards that allowed Rosewood to stand alone as the one event that met each of these criteria. And finally, Y stands for You. Any effort to correct past wrongs or to provide an equal opportunity to succeed must start with you. Because you can make a difference. You must take the initiative and have the mental savvy, determination, and endurance to see your project through to the end. So you have got to PRAY, if you want to have your day. I want to thank you for being such an attentive audience. It has been an enlightening experience spending time with you today. I hope I have said something today that was of benefit. Thank you and may God bless you. |