The Real Rosewood

By KARL HYPPOLITE

Special to The Sun

Lizzie Jenkins says she has always had a passion for history. It’s something that she’s always been drawn to - a love imparted to her by her mother. After several years of studying African-American history in Gainesville, Jenkins decided to take it one step further.

Jenkins, an Archer native, recently published “Alachua County Florida,” a collection of photographs that tell the personal stories of African Americans in Alachua County. The book is part of the Black America Series from Arcadia Publishing, which publishes books on local and regional U.S. history.

The compilation of photos with accompanying captions focuses primarily on family, education and civil rights.

Putting the book together was not easy, even for someone who had knowledge of Alachua County, said Jenkins. She began by asking relatives to donate photos and soon after began to broaden her search. She drove to Windsor, Hawthrone, Waldo and several other locations and her collection of photos continued to grow.

“I became the historian in my family,” Jenkins said. “Everywhere I went people were willing to help.

“People would send me to another town and another town (for photos). The elderly were extremely helpful and full of thoughtfullness. It makes me want to go back and re-do what I’ve done.”

Though her search was made easier by the contributions of several helpful Alachua County natives, choosing the photos that would be published in the book was not an easy task. Jenkins said she was very particular about the type of photos she wanted

“I was looking for black and white photos that tell a story,” she said. “If they gave me a photo of a large family, they had to have a story they could tell me about the pictures.”

The book provides readers with an entry point into the culture of African-American life in the county.

“I think it has interesting aspects about the lives of African Americans in Alachua County,” said Vivian Filer, who chairs the board of directors for The Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center. Filer, who is working to preserve the historic building on SE 7th Avenue, says she has given the book an initial read.

“I think it’s really a testimony to the fact that we have a lot of black history to learn and write about,” she said.

The history of African Americans in the United States is the prevailing theme of Jenkins’ book. The first chapter is titled “Pioneers: Movers and Shakers” and features photos of successful individuals in Alachua County.

“Each photo shows where we came from,” Jenkins said. “How we got from point A to point B. And how the elderly got from point A to point B.”

Jenkins’ interest doesn’t lie just in the progression from the past to the present, she said. As a retired teacher of 33 years, she said she’s interested in teaching today’s Alachua County youth about their local history.

Jenkins would like to see the book and other quality books added to the Alachua county school curriculum. “Students appreciate learning real local history that they can relate to. Teachers work hard to keep students interested in Black history during black history month, however, black history is important enough to be taught daily.”

Jenkins said she feels the book will help close the gap if students knew that some of Alachua county’s real history makers are their ancestors.

“History is not something they own, it’s who they are,” Jenkins said. “And unless we appreciate our ancestors and respect their sacrifices, we aren’t worthy of their accomplishments.”

by AIDA MALLARD
Special to the Guardian

Poetry and history, singing and dancing, and local history makers were the main attraction at a celebration of Black History Month held Tuesday at Prairie View Academy.

School principal Dr. Barbara Henry offered the welcoming remarks and recited the words to ”Lift Ever’y Voice,” the Negro National Anthem.

“We are here to celebrate our rich heritage and history and to encourage the children,” said Henry. ”These children are bright stars who will become successful and outstanding citizens.”

The school’s safety patrol students led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Frances Leslie sang a stirring rendition of “America the Beautiful” that brought the house to its feet.

“We are here exposing children to living history,” said Cynthia Mingo, the event’s organizer and a retired teacher at the school. ”We are happy and proud today.”

The children in the Head Start program performed like seasoned veterans for an appreciative audience as they recited, “A Beautiful World” and “My People,” poems by Langston Hughes.

The fifth-graders had everyone’s feet a-tapping with a lively dance to the song, “Shake Yourself Loose.”

Although a large group of the students consisted of little ones in Head Start and kindergarten, they behaved like their older peers and listened intently.

The theme, “History Living Among Us,” was well covered with local history makers giving brief presentations.

Charles Chestnut III, a local civil rights activist and former elected official, shared a powerful poem with the children. He told the children, “You are the future of our world. Become stepping stones and do not become stumbling blocks.”

Kali Blount, an advocate for black history to be taught in schools, said, “Remember black history every day of the year, and not just in Black History Month.”

Lizzie Jenkins, president of the Real Rosewood Foundation Inc. and the author of ”Rosewood,” said she was just 5 years old when she heard what happened at Rosewood and knew even then that she would write the story someday. “This is my story and I am sticking to it,” she said.

Historian Vivian Filer talked about the Cotton Club and the plans for the building to become a museum and cultural center.

Margaret Rosenberger, who was the school’s second principal when it was Prairie View Elementary and also an author, spoke about the early days, and she gave Henry a copy of her book, “A Lifetime of Humor,” for the school library.

Dr. Lougene Hill, who served as school principal from 1980-1998, joked, saying, “There were some good times, some not so good. No, I don’t miss it and I don’t want to go back.”

Then in a more serious mode, he said, “Too often, we become complacent and want to maintain the status quo. Take the good and the bad and roll with the punches. These boys and girls are our future.”

The Rev. Gladys Days, pastor of Abundant Life Outreach Ministries, sang “If I Can Help Somebody.”

In closing remarks, Mingo asked the audience for feedback and received a resounding “Excellent!” But for kindergarten student Carmen Pierce, the program was fun, and the “dancing was great,” she said.

Courtesy of the Gainesville Sun
by Cleveland Tinker
Special to the Guardian

As alumni of Gainesville’s Lincoln High School talk about their school days, one word comes up over and over — family.

This weekend alumni will gather for the 7th Biennial Grand Reunion that draws members from many classes. The big event of the weekend is Saturday’s Hall of Fame Banquet where four new members will be inducted.

Reunion chairman Albert White, a member of the Class of 1963 and a hall of fame member, says the individual classes still hold their own reunions, but the idea for the Grand Reunion grew out of an effort to honor Jesse Heard, Lincoln’s legendary football coach whose career touched many different classes over the years.

Lincoln was Gainesville’s all-black high school that operated from 1923 to 1970, when the integration of public schools closed its doors in mid-year. It started in the brick building now known as the A. Quinn Jones Center at 1108 NW 7th Ave., serving first through 12th grades. In 1956 a new state-of-the-art building became the home of the Big Red Fighting Terriers. Today’s it’s Lincoln Middle School. Lincoln was, and continues to be, a source of community pride. And while the school didn’t graduate a class with more than 100 students until its final decade, White says the Grand Reunion should draw 500 to 600 people this weekend.

“The nostalgia, the reliving of the good times at Lincoln, seeing faces I haven’t seen in years,” is what White says is a big part of the attraction for him.

Lizzie R. Jenkins, a 1957 Lincoln grad, will be one of the four people inducted into the hall of fame Saturday. She went on to a 33-year career in teaching and has written books about Rosewood, the black history of the town of Archer and is wrapping up a book on the black history of Alachua County.

Jenkins says what she remembers most is the family atmosphere nurtured by the faculty and staff. She says long before there was ever a government free-lunch program, “those lunchroom workers and the principal made sure every child ate.”

Inductee Doris Edwards was a member of the class of 1965. She’s now retired from 37 years at the University of Florida where she was a program assistant in the Office of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Today she’s busy in a variety of community projects and heads up the Lincoln Estates Neighborhood Association. She calls her years at Lincoln a rewarding, character-building experience.

“The family atmosphere, how the teachers touched the lives of the children in a way that has carried over from the past and into the present,” is what Edwards recalls. “They were like parents to us. There was personal nurturing from the teachers at that time.”

Alphonso Johnson was one of those teachers, and he’ll be entering the hall of fame Saturday. Johnson, who lives in Williston, taught science for 10 years at Lincoln and later served as an assistant principal at Sidney Lanier School and Hawthorne and Newberry high schools. He’s now retired and active in AARP and with the Jerusalem Baptist Association.

“I loved that school, it was like a big family,” Johnson says. “It permeated out into the community with the cooperation you got from parents.”

The fourth inductee is neither a Lincoln grad nor a former teacher, but White says with Rosa. B. Williams’ long service to the community, she just had to be included. Williams says she is honored and remembers the impact the school made.

“It was just like a whole family to everybody, we had the football team, we had the band,” Williams says. “They were proud of that school.”

Former Lincoln Principal John Dukes Jr., who died in March, will also be honored with a lifetime achievement award. Dukes, who entered the school’s hall of fame in 2001, also served as principal at Eastside High School and as an assistant superintendent for student services for Alachua County. His widow, Bernice Dukes, says he would be touched by the honor.

“He was very devoted to Lincoln. That’s where he attended, that’s where he graduated and that’s where he got his first job,” Bernice Dukes says. “I’m sure he’d feel good accepting an award from the students he taught and was principal, also, to many of them.”

Gary Kirkland can be reached at 338-3104 or kirklag@gvillesun.com.

Courtesy of the Gainesville Sun
by Cleveland Tinker
Special to THE GUARDIAN

It was an evening with Rosewood families and friends and recognition of unsung heroes at the Real Rosewood Foundation Inc.’s second annual awards dinner held Saturday in Gainesville.

The theme was remembering the legacy of Rosewood, and organizers said that preserving Rosewood’s history was akin to preserving America’s history.

“It is very important to get the truth out about the Rosewood incident because I want people to know the truth,” said Lizzie R. Jenkins, executive director of the Real Rosewood Foundation Inc., which is based in Archer.

Jenkins said it is important to recognize the unsung heroes of Rosewood that helped many black residents escape from the small Levy County town in 1923, when a white woman falsely accused a black man of raping her. As a result of the accusation, James Taylor, the husband of the alleged victim, formed a mob that terrorized the black community, killing five blacks.

“Had it not been for the unsung heroes of Rosewood in 1923, my family members and other Rosewood citizens would have perished or died,” said Jenkins. “It is one way in and one way out of Rosewood. Sheriff (Robert) Walker worked 96 hours straight without sleep, begging people to help him get black people out of Rosewood safely.”

Phoebe Walker Hughes is the niece of the late Levy County sheriff, and she was presented with an Unsung Heroes Award in her uncle’s honor.

Hughes said she found out about Jenkins’ foundation from her daughter, who had seen a movie about Rosewood. They knew their uncle had been a sheriff in the town, and searched the Internet to find out about the movie. Their search led them to Jenkins.

Jenkins said Hughes’ daughter, Lee Yarborough, wrote her and apologized if her family had harmed anybody during the riot.

“I wrote her back and told her that her uncle saved a lot of lives,” said Jenkins, who would eventually begin corresponding with Hughes. “My reason for embracing the white Rosewood descendants is because my foundation is inclusive.”

Other awards given out was the William C. Bryce Unsung Heroes Award presented to his great-granddaughter, Margaret Kruse. The John Bryce Unsung Heroes Award was presented to his great-great-grandniece, Allison Piliod. The Bryces helped Walker protect blacks, according to Jenkins.

The Sarah Carrier Humanitarian Award was presented to Alachua Vice-Mayor Bonnie Burgess “for her tireless work in support and belief in her hometown of Alachua, the same as Sarah Carrier supported and believed in her hometown of Rosewood…”

“It is awesome. I am truly honored to have been chosen for this award,” said Burgess, a candidate for the state House of Representatives seat being vacated by Ed Jennings Jr. “When Liz called me and told me the board had chosen me, I thought it was a prank call.”

The Aaron Carrier Humanitarian Award was presented to John M. Jenkins, Liz Jenkins’ husband, “for supporting her tireless efforts to tell the Rosewood story…”

The Sylvester Carrier Humanitarian Award was presented to Charles Goston “for embracing and respecting the image of his community…”

The Ola Mae Hines Humanitarian Award went to Andrew Hines, “corresponding to his mother’s patience, guidance and strength to survive…”

The Ernest M. Blocker Pioneer Award was presented to his son Ronald Blocker, the event’s guest speaker. Blocker, a Rosewood descendant, is superintendent of the Orange County Public Schools.

Proceeds from the banquet will help fund the creation of the Rosewood Museum, which will be located in Archer.

81 years later, Rosewood memorialized

BY KAREN VOYLES

SUN STAFF WRITER

KAREN VOYLES/The Gainesville Sun

Robie Mortin, right, was 8 years old when her family fled from Rosewood in 1923, a day before the predominantly black town was demolished by an angry white mob. Martin and Rosewood descendant Janie Black, left, were among those honored Thursday during a ceremony near the site where the town stood.

OSEWOOD - The first memorial service was held Thursday for those who died or had their lives irretrievably altered by the horrific racial incident that began on Jan. 1, 1923.

This week’s peace and healing ceremony was planned by descendants of black families who lived in Rosewood before the town was decimated by an angry white mob.

“This is the dawn of a new day for Rosewood,” the Rev. Avon Witherspoon said in her invocation.

She reminded the crowd of more than 100 that gathered at the community ballpark south of the original town site that the purpose of the ceremony was to “bring peace, healing and restoration.”

The ceremony was described by organizer Lizzie Jenkins of Archer as a tribute to the ancestors who once lived in the town and worked at the nearby turpentine mill or for white families who lived in the area. She told the crowd that the ceremony was important because “preserving Rosewood’s history is preserving America’s history.”

The history of the atrocities at Rosewood was documented by the 1994 Florida Legislature, which paid out $2 million in compensation to survivors and the descendants.

The violence began after a white woman accused a black man of raping her. The accusation - which was never proven - set off the violence that did not end until several black residents had been murdered and the nearly 50-year-old town was burned to the ground, with the exception of one home that remains standing today.

Within hours of the woman’s accusation and the onset of the violence, surviving residents fled into the surrounding woods, taking nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Efforts to get the governor or president involved in calming the situation were ignored and it was left up to the Levy County sheriff and a handful of other local white men to help arrange to get the black residents out of the area. Many were picked up by a train and taken to other family members in other parts of the state.

Robie Mortin, now 89 years old, was just 8 when her father whisked her and an older sister out of town at the first indication of trouble.

“I never did think I would live to see a day like this,” Mortin said Thursday as she participated in the service. “My dad got us out on a train the day before most of the others got out and we were all the way to Chiefland before we heard about the hanging.”

White men, convinced that Rosewood blacksmith Sam Carter had helped a rapist escape, tortured Carter, then shot him, hanged him and butchered his remains, according to the history documented by the Legislature.

Those who could escape into the surrounding swamps did so, some waiting in freezing water until they could be summoned to a train that hauled them to safety. The torching of the homes left only one standing, which can be seen today alongside State Road 24.

For decades, Rosewood atrocities were only whispered about. Much of what had happened there was documented by oral family histories that began being publicized in the early 1980s.

Robert Thompson, a 72-year-old black man and lifelong residents of nearby Chiefland, said he had heard the stories all his life, and was at the ceremony Thursday to listen to others.

“We are here to respect the ones that died and all of them that lived through it,” Thompson said.

Jenkins said her goal is to one day have a monument erected in the Rosewood area so that no one ever forgets what happened there.

Karen Voyles can be reached at (352) 486-5058 or voylesk@ gvillesun.com.

Woman tells tragic story of relatives’ Rosewood ordeal

By Chantrell Bruton
Contributing Writer

Devastation, death and silence.For more than 50 years, Lizzie Polly Robinson Jenkins kept silent about those aspects of her family’s history.

But as she led a tour of six students and two UF employees Saturday afternoon, Jenkins, 60, openly told the story of her family’s experiences in the town of Rosewood.

As a bus carried the group to the city about an hour outside of Gainesville, Jenkins told stories and sung songs about her aunt’s experiences.

Jenkins was only three years old when her mother sat she and her three siblings down to tell them about the 1923 tragedy involving their aunt Mahulda Gussie Brown Carrier, who had lived in Rosewood since 1917, and uncle Aaron Carrier.

“I was too little to understand everything she was saying, but it sounded so sad,” she said.

It was more than 75 years ago that the alleged rape of a white woman by a black man led to the uproar that would destroy the small Levy County town.

During the riots, Jenkins’ uncle was beaten, dragged and sent to jail.

As the bus passed the small, green highway marker that read “Rosewood,” Jenkins pointed out the one remaining house - John Wright’s house.

Wright was a merchant in Rosewood and one of the only white residents. During the riots, Wright let some black people hide in his house. Jenkins’ aunt was one of those people.

The wooden-frame, two-story house was built around 1871 and now is owned by John Doyle and his wife. Doyle has no family relationship to Wright and did not know the historical background of his home when he bought it in about 1979.

“I didn’t start learning about it until around 1983, when the show “60 Minutes” came out and did a segment,” he said.

After the broadcast, Rosewood survivors and descendents started coming to Doyle’s home, he said.

Much of the original architecture is the same, but there have been some renovations over the years.

Jenkins, author of “The Real Rosewood,” was overwhelmed with emotion the first time she went into the house.

“It was Feb. 8, 1997, and when I asked Doyle if I could come in, and he said, ‘Yes.’ I couldn’t believe it,” Jenkins said. “I was trying to drink a cup of coffee, but all I could do was think of my aunt, and I started shaking.”

The group also went to Shiloh Cemetery, where Wright and his family were buried, and Archer, where the people who escaped the riots by train were once dropped off.

Jenkins said she shares her Rosewood story through books and tours “in hopes of teaching people and making them aware so something like this doesn’t happen again.”

UF junior Brian Hayes knew nothing about Rosewood before the trip, sponsored by Students Taking Action Against Racism.

“I was mainly curious,” Hayes said. “I don’t know a lot about Gainesville, but I decided I am here so I should take advantage of the opportunity to learn more.”

Another trip led by Jenkins is being planned for February as part of Black History Month.

“The flame still burns,” Jenkins said. “As long as I am alive, the memory will be kept alive in my soul.”