How History Forgot Rosewood, a Black Town Razed by a White Mob

A hundred years ago, central Florida was home to a town called Rosewood. And then, suddenly, it wasn’t.

In the early 1900s, Rosewood was a small town in a rural part of Florida that’s full of pines and oaks. The name came from its abundant red cedars, which were cut down to make pencils. In 1920, the Levy County community held an estimated 26 households. According to census records, 4 belonged to white residents, while 22 belonged to Black families. The town’s total population was around 100.

In January 1923, Rosewood was wiped off the map by a week of mob violence, then erased from history by people who didn’t want to talk about what had happened to the town’s primarily Black residents. But in 1982, a white newspaper reporter named Gary Moore started asking questions in nearby Cedar Key. At last, everything that had been hidden began to come out.

Multiple versions of what happened exist, including a highly fictionalized recounting by director John Singleton in a 1997 movie starring Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames and Jon Voight. The account that follows here reflects an array of sources, including Moore’s research, testimony from survivors and a 1993 report commissioned by the state of Florida.

Click the link below to read more: