THE FLORIDA MASSACRE HISTORY IGNORED

[00:00:00]Do you know one of the deadliest election day racial attacks in American history >> [music] >> happened in Florida in 1920 after black citizens tried to vote? It happened in Ocoee, Florida on November 2nd, 1920. At the time, black Americans across the South faced violent intimidation anytime they attempted to vote during the Jim Crow era. But in Ocoee, several black residents still tried to cast ballots on election day. One of them was a black man named July Perry, and July Perry was also helping black people who didn't know how to register and cast their votes. [music] That was when news started spreading around the white community that black people were trying to vote. The white mobs [music] quickly became enraged.

[00:00:37]Tensions exploded across the town. Armed white mobs started attacking black homes, churches, and businesses throughout Ocoee. Families [music] fled into forests and swamps trying to survive the violence. Homes burned through the night, and black residents were hunted across the area. July Perry was eventually captured by white mobs, >> [music] >> brutally beaten, and lynched after being accused of helping black citizens vote.

[00:00:58]By the time the violence ended, dozens of black residents were believed killed, though the exact [music] number remains unknown. Many survivors never returned to Ocoee, and Ocoee's black population was almost completely erased for decades afterward. For years, the massacre was barely mentioned in many history books.

[00:01:15]No major prosecutions, no justice for the victims, mostly [music] silence. But the truth remained. One of the deadliest racial attacks in American history [music] happened because black Americans tried to exercise their right to vote.

[00:01:28]Because in Jim Crow America, >> [music] >> even a ballot could be treated like a threat. Why should people face mobs and violence just for trying to do their legal right in a country they helped build, too? Before you leave, comment the hidden black history story you think history should tell next. Because some stories disappear when nobody says their names anymore. If this is your first time hearing this, comment first time.

[00:01:48]Not every hero makes it into textbooks.