Friday TOON Roundup 1-Stand Your Ground

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24. Because Sanford Florida has a long history of racism.

And it's not just a slight bias, it is a seriously warped antagonistic hatred of minorities.

Trayvon Martin's death reminds Sanford of history of racial tension
11:05 p.m. EST, March 14, 2012|By Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel

In almost any community, the shooting death of a black teen by a white crime-watch volunteer would raise accusations of racism. But this one occurred in Sanford, a city that has struggled with racial tensions for a century.

Much of that tension stems from Sanford's long history as an agricultural community that attracted laborers, many of them black, to work in the fields, farms and railroads, historians say. They formed Seminole County's historic black communities of Georgetown, Goldsboro and Midway.

Founded by laborers in the late 19th century, Goldsboro was once an active center of black life and became the second town in Florida incorporated by blacks. But in 1911, Sanford stripped Goldsboro of its charter and took it over. The streets, named after its black pioneers, were quickly renamed.

"Ever since Goldsboro was taken over by Sanford, there has been tension," said Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett.
More: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-14/news/os-trayvon-martin-shooting-sanford-20120314_1_sanford-police-lieutenant-black-pioneers-celery-avenue

The Unconquerable Doing the Impossible: Jackie Robinson's 1946 Spring Training in Jim Crow Florida

Daytona Beach, Florida

When the bus finally pulled into the station, it was greeted by a racially mixed crowd. Rachel Robinson recalled, "I had never been so tired, hungry, miserable, upset in my life as when we finally reached Daytona Beach." When they got off the bus, they discovered that Branch Rickey had arranged for a welcoming committee of three African-American men. Wendell Smith, a sportswriter for the Pittsburgh Courier (the most widely circulated black newspaper of the time), and his photographer, Billy Rowe (who had covered the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri), had been hired by Rickey to protect, chauffeur and advise Jackie. The third man at the station was black pitcher, John Richard Wright, who Rickey had also signed to the Royals. Blacks and whites alike surged forward to get a better look at Robinson, unaware that Wright was also challenging segregated baseball. Branch Rickey had arranged for Jackie and Rachel Robinson to stay the night at the home of black pharmacist Joe Davis and his wife, Dufferin. After Rachel went upstairs to settle into a small, private room, Jackie released his anger and told the threesome, "I never want another trip like that one." Jackie told Smith and Rowe he was ready to return to California. They argued with him to reconsider and sleep on it, and they were successful in convincing Robinson to stay.

The enormity of the challenge of crossing baseball's color line, accentuated by the awful trip to Florida, had become crystal clear to Jackie. His four-letter career as an athlete in college at UCLA and his World War II service as an officer in the U.S. Cavalry would carry no weight. There was no practice scheduled for Sunday, but Jackie and Rachel had to travel another 40 miles that day to Seminole County. Because there was an overabundance of postwar talent and Rickey had to work through nearly 200 prospects, he decided to keep the Dodgers in Daytona Beach and move the Royals to rural Sanford, Florida's celery capital. Rickey had arranged for them to stay with Mr. and Mrs. David Brock, a prominent black couple, at their large home, with its wide veranda. The team's lakefront hotel, the Mayfair, would not accept them.

Sanford, Florida

Anxiously, Jackie Robinson suited up in his Montreal Royals uniform for the first time on Monday, March 4, and reported to the park at 9:30 in the morning along with Johnny Wright. They were immediately stopped by reporters who largely ignored Wright but peppered Robinson with questions. When asked, "What would you do if one of these pitchers threw at your head?" Jackie replied, "I'd duck!" Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth then introduced Robinson to the Montreal manager, Clay Hopper. After two days of practice, Rickey and Hopper decided to switch Robinson's playing position to see if he could work out as a first or second baseman, rather than a shortstop where he was experienced.

Jackie's concern about competing with veteran players to remain on the Royals was interrupted when racism intruded. Branch Rickey had miscalculated the degree to which Jim Crow was entrenched in Sanford. As an example, an inanimate object, a second-hand piano, purchased in 1924 from the courthouse for use in a segregated school in nearby Oviedo, was filed as a "Negro Piano" in the school board's record; living human beings challenging segregation certainly would not be tolerated. A large group of white residents had met with the mayor of Sanford and demanded that Robinson and Wright be run out of town. At dinnertime on March 5, Sanford officials informed the Royals that black and white players would not be allowed on the same playing field together. Fearing that a mob might threaten them at the Brock house, Rickey sent Wright and the Robinsons immediately back to Daytona Beach. Deeply disturbed by the situation, Jackie talked about quitting and returning to the Negro Leagues, but Smith and Rowe again persuaded him to hang on.

More:http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_jackie_robinson.htm