As racism protests roil US, Florida revisits dark past
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — On Election Day a century ago, a white mob swept through a tiny Florida citrus town after a black man showed up at the polls to vote. Over two days of terror, the mob set fire to homes and drove black residents from their community.
It was one of the bloodiest days in American political history, with the number of deaths remaining in question — some estimates as high as 60.
That dark episode, until recently largely forgotten, came to be known as the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Riots. Others remember it as a massacre, one of the many acts of racial violence perpetrated against black citizens over the decades.
As the centennial approaches, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has before him a bill that would require schools to do more to highlight the day in their history classes. If signed by the governor, it would order state officials to identify parks, buildings and other facilities that could be renamed in honor of those who died because of the racial hatred that welled up on that day in the tiny community west of Orlando.
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