Rosewood, FL 1923

Why did domestic terrorism obliterate a flourishing black town called Rosewood, FL, in 1923? Rosewood wasn't always prosperous. In its early days, it was an integrated working-class town centered around the cedar mills. When the cedar trees were exhausted, the mills closed, and most whites left Rosewood for nearby Sumner.

New Year’s Day, January 1, 1923, through January 7, Rosewood became what investigative journalist Edward Bradley called "a real American horror story."  A survivor remembered her childhood town as a "happy place...where everyone's house was painted... and roses everywhere you walked."

The massacre started like many American racial tales. A white woman claimed rape and rumors spread until someone, anyone was made to pay for the alleged crime. In Rosewood,  a married white woman, whose husband often traveled for work, had to explain the bruises on her body. She said they resulted from a rape by a black man. Two women said they saw a white man, not her husband, leave her house the day of the alleged assault, and she wore those bruises. Still, a Black escape prisoner and a local married Black man were targeted by the rabid white Sumner mob as likely suspects.

When hearing that an enraged Sumner mob was approaching Rosewood, many Black families knew to take refuge. Two white men were shot and killed when they invaded the home of a black family. Soon, Rosewood was under siege and surrounded by an armed, riled mob. Horrified Black families fled to the nearby swamp and stayed put until they thought the coast was clear.

John Wright, a Rosewood white shopkeeper, opened his home and heart to shelter terrified women and children seeking safety. Wright sought the help of two wealthy white brothers who owned a railroad. He convinced John and William Bryce to use their railroad to help Black women and children escape. Not wanting to offend the racist white mob, the brothers decided against rescuing Black men. The train stopped only for women and children. The pulverizing of Rosewood and the killings continued for one week. When the fires settled, Rosewood, FL was expunged.

No one knows for certain just how many people were killed that week. Whatever the numbers, this horror was never meant to surface. For decades, fear and trauma prevented Black people from talking about Rosewood. The mob escaped with impunity, as was typical in these uniquely American events.

In 1982, when a journalist wanted to understand why Sumner and Cedar Key, FL were all white towns, he uncovered the long-buried story of Rosewood. In 1983, Ed Bradley narrated this “horror” on national television.  In 1994, the Florida state legislature passed a bill for restitution to a small group of survivors. Ten years later, Florida designated Rosewood as a Florida Heritage Landmark.