In this episode you will learn about the single bloodiest day in modern American political history, the Ocoee Massacre. Ocoee is located in Orange County, Florida just west or Orlando. On November 2, 1920, the day of the US presidential election, Blacks were attacked by a white mob in order to suppress their votes.

Black organizations had been engaging in voter registration drives in preparation for voting day. The night before election day the Ku Klux Klan paraded through town warning the Black community that “no Negro would be permitted to vote”. Mose Norman and Julius “July” Perry, two Black men, headed the organization of the voter registration and also paid the poll taxes to ensure those that couldn’t afford to do so could vote. Norman, who attempted to vote first, was turned away. All Blacks who attempted were also refused for various trumped up reasons. Norman returned again demanding to vote and was attacked and beaten by White men this time. He went to the home of Perry to seek refuge and tell him what happened. A White mod of around 100 men, Klan members wanting to teach “the negros” a lesson, arrived at Perry’s home and demanded to have Norman. They surrounded the home and tried to break in to get Norman. Perry refused, and three White men knocked down the door and entered his home. Perry fired gunshots from inside his home in self defense and to drive away the mob. Two of the White men were killed and one was wounded. The mob then called for reinforcements from nearby Orlando and Apopka. Black homes, churches, schools, and businesses were burned to the ground. Perry was found and arrested but was taken by the White mob while being transported to the jail. He was lynched from a light post in Orlando with a sign that read, “This is what we do to niggers that vote.” Norman is said to have escaped but was never heard from again. It is estimated that 35-50 Blacks were murdered by the mob. Those murdered were shot, burned alive, beaten, and castrated. Those not murdered were forced to take refuge in the woods and orange groves, ultimately driven out by violence, homeless, and having lost everything.

Photos of Perry’s lynching were placed in stores and sold to commemorate the incident. No one was ever prosecuted for the crimes and Ocoee, Florida became an all white town. Whites claimed the stolen land for themselves and no Black residents settled there again until sixty-one years later in 1981. For 18 years following the Ocoee Massacre not a single Black vote was cast in the whole of Orange County, Florida.

Questions to Consider:
Are modern day poll taxes and intimidation used today to suppress Blacks from voting?
Should reparations be given to those families massacred and driven out of their homes and communities? What should it be?
What resonates most with you?
Who else will you share this with?`

Resources from this Episode
History of Orlando-The Ocoee Massacre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1bkzCII8r4
Ocoee Massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocoee_massacre

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