This month marks the 100th anniversary of the destruction of Rosewood. Rosewood was a majority Black community in Levy County. In January of 1923, a white vigilante mob murdered Black residents and set fire to the town.
Listen above to a report from the Sunday wreath laying ceremony in Rosewood and scroll through photos below. Click here for a full calendar of this week’s centennial events.
Rosewood massacre descendant Gregory Doctor (Left) and historian Dr. Marvin Dunn mourn for the victims of the Rosewood massacre that occurred a hundred years ago during a wreath-laying ceremony, at Rosewood, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (Xinyue Li/WUFT News)Members of the Jerusalem Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star stand along the railway during the wreath-laying ceremony at Rosewood, Fla., Sunday, Jan.8, 2023. (Xinyue Li/WUFT News)Mary Reynolds, the wife of the first Black family to move back to Rosewood in 1977, participates in the wreath-laying ceremony of the 100th anniversary of Rosewood massacre, at Rosewood, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (Xinyue Li/WUFT News)Rabbi Robyn Fisher, the spiritual leader of Beth Or in South Miami, presents at the wreath-laying ceremony of the 100th anniversary of Rosewood massacre, at Rosewood, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (Xinyue Li/WUFT News)Dr. Cynthia Moore Chestnut, city commissioner of Gainesville, Florida, gives the keynote speech at the wreath-laying ceremony of the 100th anniversary of Rosewood massacre, at Rosewood, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (Xinyue Li/WUFT News)
Katie Hyson is a Report for America Corps Member at WUFT News covering racial and rural inequities in East Gainesville and north central Florida. She can be reached by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org. Click here to learn how you can support her reporting.
WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
