Graveyard at Dozier School. Pic courtesy of Google.
Researchers have discovered 19 more grave shafts at an infamous Florida reform school where boys—most of them black—suffered and sometimes died under brutal conditions, NBC News reports. That brings the total to at least 50 at The Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, and all of them are in an area that was segregated for black boys. “I didn’t realize going in how much of a story of civil rights it was,” said a professor at the University of South Florida, which conducted the study.Florida claimed it closed the school last year over budgetary concerns, but lawsuits and investigations have alleged beatings, forced labor, sexual abuse, and murder since it opened in 1900. One writer who survived the school dubbed it a “concentration camp for little boys,” and maintained that “a devil was hiding behind every tree.” Records show that at least 96 boys and two adults died there between 1914 and 1973, but student records after 1960 remain closed due to privacy laws—so the school’s true death count is unknown, and each grave shaft may hold more than one body. What’s more, a hidden whites-only cemetery still hasn’t been found.
It’s not over for the victims and the families of those incarcerated and tortured at the Arthur G. Dozier School. On the contrary, justice is about to be served for those long denied and those long in hiding for their crimes. That list includes not only administrators and guards, but also those politicians and so called public servants who for decades refused to acknowledge or covered up their actions or inaction.
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I also lived in Florida and never heard of this. I can see why…if it’s all true, and I assume it is, Florida had their own form of a concentration camp!
@James….I certainly agree with that part of the state being the “Redneck Riviera”. I never heard that before and it is appropriate.
Just awful. I would like to follow this story. Do you know any books written about it yet?
No, Carol I don’t know of any books about it, but there either is at least one or soon should be. This is too good of a story for someone to ignore it.
I lived in Alabama (graduated from Sylacauga H.S.) as well as the Florida Panhandle. Even though that was almost 40 years apart, I couldn’t tell much difference between them.
Curiously enough, some friends and I celebrated our graduation from H.S. by spending a week in Panama City Beach. I learned a lot that week. Among other thing, what tear gas was like. But that’s a whole ‘nother story. 😉
Carol,
There are a couple of books out there about this story. Recommended…The Boys of the Dark by Pulitzer Prize author Robin Gaby Fisher, along with two of the “White House Boys” Michael O’McCarthy and Robert W. Straley. This book may still be available on Amazon.com. There are several websites as well, just google white house boys or Dozier School. There are several articles on the St. Petersburg Times newspaper site…type in “white house boys”. My husband is one of this schools victims.
I lived in Panama City, Florida, about 50 miles south of Marianna from 1999 until 2003. In that time, I never heard of the school, nor had most of the people in Panama City, I think.
Is it possible that, by then, an attempt was being made to quietly disengage from the school and hope it would all go away?
After living there, I suspect the area is called “The Redneck Riviera” for more than the beaches.
We are staying open. MMA may not be as active as it once was, but why close this one, with all those articles still available to read, and maybe more to come?
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Fox News on Sunday that former President Donald Trump is guilty of a “ghoulish” attempt to undermine the economy by downplaying the need for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Recently, the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird went on television and social media to promote COVID-19 vaccines. For anyone who has been conscious for at least a few years, celebrities—especially ones with larger fanbases amongst the youth of the country—promoting public health initiatives is not surprising. It has been going on forever and ever.
[caption id="attachment_187456" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Getty images[/caption] by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become...
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We also have an entire string of articles written about this subject Carol.
I also lived in Florida and never heard of this. I can see why…if it’s all true, and I assume it is, Florida had their own form of a concentration camp!
@James….I certainly agree with that part of the state being the “Redneck Riviera”. I never heard that before and it is appropriate.
Just awful. I would like to follow this story. Do you know any books written about it yet?
No, Carol I don’t know of any books about it, but there either is at least one or soon should be. This is too good of a story for someone to ignore it.
I lived in Alabama (graduated from Sylacauga H.S.) as well as the Florida Panhandle. Even though that was almost 40 years apart, I couldn’t tell much difference between them.
Curiously enough, some friends and I celebrated our graduation from H.S. by spending a week in Panama City Beach. I learned a lot that week. Among other thing, what tear gas was like. But that’s a whole ‘nother story. 😉
Carol,
There are a couple of books out there about this story. Recommended…The Boys of the Dark by Pulitzer Prize author Robin Gaby Fisher, along with two of the “White House Boys” Michael O’McCarthy and Robert W. Straley. This book may still be available on Amazon.com. There are several websites as well, just google white house boys or Dozier School. There are several articles on the St. Petersburg Times newspaper site…type in “white house boys”. My husband is one of this schools victims.
I lived in Panama City, Florida, about 50 miles south of Marianna from 1999 until 2003. In that time, I never heard of the school, nor had most of the people in Panama City, I think.
Is it possible that, by then, an attempt was being made to quietly disengage from the school and hope it would all go away?
After living there, I suspect the area is called “The Redneck Riviera” for more than the beaches.