Group travels to historic Rosewood to mark massacre’s 75th anniversary

By Rawchayl Sahadeo
Contributing Writer

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Twenty-eight students and two professors boarded a bus Saturday to relive a Florida massacre.This year marks the 75th anniversary of a white Sumner woman’s claim that a black man from Rosewood beat her. A mob formed, and both blacks and whites were killed. Residents fled to nearby cities and lost most of their belongings.

As the students rode through Archer, Bronson and Otter Creek to get to Rosewood, descendant Lizzie Jenkins recreated the town’s history, telling the story of the massacre her mother had told her as a child.

Jenkins wrote a book about her aunt, Mahulda Gussie Brown Carrier, who survived the massacre by escaping to Archer. Carrier died in 1948.

“Many of us have lived a Rosewood, so this book is for everybody that has lived a Rosewood in some shape, form or fashion,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins continued her story until the group arrived in Rosewood. No signs announce the entrance of the infamous town.

The group walked to merchant John Wright’s former house. Wright was the only white man living in Rosewood, and his house is the only reminder of the tragedy.

During the massacre, Jenkins said he housed and fed some blacks who were hiding from the mob that destroyed the town.

Students took pictures and asked questions outside Wright’s house. Jenkins told the students they were standing where Rosewood residents hid for their lives.

After visiting Wright’s home, the group drove to Shiloh Cemetery, where Wright and his family are buried.

Wright did not have a tombstone like the rest of his family. When he died, no family members were there to give him a proper burial.

Tamesha Satahoo, a decision and information sciences junior, was disappointed nothing marked Wright as a hero for Rosewood survivors.

“As much as he did for blacks in the 1923 massacre, the least someone could have done for him was to give him a decent tombstone,” Satahoo said. “It is really unfair that this many years have gone by and his grave is still not properly marked,” she said.

After leaving the cemetery, the tour proceeded to Archer. The Archer depot was where Mahulda Carrier arrived Jan. 4, 1923, fleeing from Rosewood.

Students entered the depot, converted into the Archer Community Museum, to view the artifacts of Archer’s past. Many walked on the faded train tracks now replaced with wooden planks. There, trains once held Rosewood residents running for their lives.

At the tour’s last stop, the group came to the property owned by Jenkins’ family, where Mahulda Carrier grew up and returned after the massacre.

Jenkins’ uncle and aunt greeted the group. They welcomed the group to their house and a walk around the 40 acres of land.

The group feasted on sugar cane from the fields at the tour’s conclusion. When they returned to Gainesville, Jonathan Earle, assistant dean of the College of Engineering, ended the tour with a prayer as the group held hands.

Freshman Paul Wright said other students should to take advantage of future trips.

“The story that was told is much unlike the (1997 John Singleton) movie,” Wright said. “It was the actual story … word of mouth,” Wright said.

Another student, freshman Kirphton Fray, said he learned a lot about Rosewood.

“I learned a lot about my past, the Rosewood experience and (how) us as a people have struggled to try to get on top,” he said.

Students Taking Action Against Racism sponsored the free event for UF students. Director Krysta Jones said STAAR wants to sponsor subsequent trips so that other students can relive Rosewood’s history.

“This is a story that is a part of Florida history, especially since we are from Gainesville,” Jones said.

“Although this is not a wonderful part of history that we like to remember, it is something that we all need to learn about. … It also helps us to appreciate what we have now and to understand what our ancestors went through and the types of discrimination they had to face.”