In honor of Martin Luther King day, we take a look back at a dark day in history for the city of Ocoee. It occurred on election day, 1920, when Mose Norman, a black guy attempted to vote. He wasn’t allowed, so he decided to return later that day armed with a shot gun.
Mose’s buddy, July Perry, took a slightly more civilized route by obtaining a note from a judge saying he was eligible to vote. Later that day, some Klansmen busted into July Perry’s home and were shot by Mr. Perry himself. The authorities arrested July Perry and took him to jail. After that, the story gets even crazier when a mob of Klansmen took July Perry out of jail and lynched him like in Mississippi Burning.
Throughout the remainder of the day, they went on to burn numerous black homes, businesses, and churches causing the blacks to flee the city.
I can’t believe such a horrendous event occurred here. I’ve been living in the area for years and never heard about this. I’m so glad we don’t live in such a period.
Here’s an informative video with an eyewitness account of this dark day in history:
related links: Ocoee Race Riot, Dead Wrong
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1 Mr Mogul // Jan 20, 2009 at 1:27 pm
This is an amazing first hand account of the events of that day, from an eye witness who remembers in vivid detail what happened.
The men who tried to vote were courageous. They did what they needed to do, to enjoy the freedom of their rights, as granted by the court.
Courageous people act without thinking about how others are judging them for their actions.
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