In what became known as the largest incident of Election Day violence in U.S. history,
the tragedy in #Ocoee stands as a stark reminder of the racist barriers Black voters faced as they attempted to exercise their basic right to vote.
But while passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the use of racist literacy tests and poll taxes to bar Black voters,
that legislation was too late to help Ocoee’s Black residents.
The majority of Black people in Ocoee in 1920 lost their homes, and as many as 60 of them lost their lives.
‘The night the devil got loose’
The violence in Ocoee was not surprising, given the white-supremacist Ku Klux Klan’s efforts to intimidate Black voters and their Republican allies before the election.
In addition to marches throughout the state, the Ku Klux Klan grand master in Florida sent a letter to Republican politician William R. O’Neal, who was openly courting Black voters in his bid to become a U.S. senator.
The letter threatened O'Neal if he continued “going out among the negroes of Orlando … explaining to them just how to become citizens, and how to assert their rights.”
The letter concluded:
“We shall always enjoy WHITE SUPREMACY in this country and he who interferes must face the consequences.”
The local branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Ocoee also told a former judge that if any Black residents attempted to vote “… there would be serious trouble.”
https://theconversation.com/for-one-survivor-the-1920-election-day-massacre-in-florida-was-the-night-the-devil-got-loose-241545
Chuck Darwin /
npub19n…xt4wf
2024-11-04 01:18:01
Author Public Key
npub19ncnrqv5jlr30yecrmz2q8vkazglh6gemx8qsmcd78hh5pdstnysrxt4wfPublished at
2024-11-04 01:18:01Event JSON
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"content": "In what became known as the largest incident of Election Day violence in U.S. history, \nthe tragedy in #Ocoee stands as a stark reminder of the racist barriers Black voters faced as they attempted to exercise their basic right to vote. \n\nBut while passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the use of racist literacy tests and poll taxes to bar Black voters, \nthat legislation was too late to help Ocoee’s Black residents. \nThe majority of Black people in Ocoee in 1920 lost their homes, and as many as 60 of them lost their lives.\n‘The night the devil got loose’\nThe violence in Ocoee was not surprising, given the white-supremacist Ku Klux Klan’s efforts to intimidate Black voters and their Republican allies before the election.\nIn addition to marches throughout the state, the Ku Klux Klan grand master in Florida sent a letter to Republican politician William R. O’Neal, who was openly courting Black voters in his bid to become a U.S. senator. \nThe letter threatened O'Neal if he continued “going out among the negroes of Orlando … explaining to them just how to become citizens, and how to assert their rights.” \n\nThe letter concluded: \n“We shall always enjoy WHITE SUPREMACY in this country and he who interferes must face the consequences.”\nThe local branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Ocoee also told a former judge that if any Black residents attempted to vote “… there would be serious trouble.”\nhttps://theconversation.com/for-one-survivor-the-1920-election-day-massacre-in-florida-was-the-night-the-devil-got-loose-241545",
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