Ocoee sets day of remembrance for 1920 massacre

As William Maxwell read aloud the Day of Remembrance Proclamation of 1920 at the Nov. 20 Ocoee City Commission meeting, a packed commission chambers bore witness to the historical moment. Cell phones were held in the air to capture the moment as occasional silent sobs echoed the emotion of those in attendance. 

On Nov. 2, 1920, and for weeks following that day, African-American residents of West Orange County in and around the area that eventually became the city of Ocoee were subjected to horrors committed by a white mob and government officials simply because they wanted to vote. African-American residents were denied their civil rights, their properties and their lives and were forced to leave town. The tragic moment in Ocoee’s history is commonly referred to as the Ocoee Election Day Massacre of 1920.

The Day of Remembrance Proclamation of 1920 officially recognizes the tragic events of the Ocoee Election Day Massacre. It also declares the city will erect a historic marker to honor those affected and to educate citizens, as well as establishes a day of remembrance on the anniversary of the tragedy. The marker will be unveiled on the 100-year anniversary of the Ocoee Election Day Massacre on Nov. 2, 2020.

After reading the proclamation, the silence in the room was broken as Maxwell was met with roaring applause and a standing ovation. During the applause, Maxwell held up the proclamation in a brief moment of triumph before it was passed around the room for all in attendance to see.

Maxwell is a past chair of the city’s Human Relations and Diversity Board. In addition to his involvement with getting the city to acknowledge the 1920 Election Day Massacre and establishing the historical marker, he credited former Ocoee Mayor Lester Dabbs — and recognized the Dabbs family at the meeting — for forming an organization that wanted to acknowledge the 1920 killings and honor those impacted.

“Lester Dabbs, along with a group of West Orange businessmen in 1989, organized an organization called the West Orange Reconciliation Task Force,” Maxwell said. “They wanted to tell the story of what had happened in 1920. They wanted to honor the memory of the individuals — those fallen individuals — whose lives had been taken. They felt that the wound should be healed, and the only way this could be done was through the process of a total recognition of what had taken place (in 1920).”

Natalie Hatch, daughter of Lester Dabbs, came to the meeting to witness the historic moment her father helped make happen.

“On his deathbed, Mr. Maxwell promised that he would continue this mission that they had been working on all those years, and I’m just really glad to see it come to fruition tonight,” she said. “I know how proud he would be.”

A number of individuals shared their thoughts of the proclamation after it was read — many expressing gratitude that the city has taken a step forward in the right direction. Sha’ron Cooley McWhite is the great-great grandniece of Julius “July” Perry, who was lynched around the time of the 1920 massacre. She said at the time, law enforcement officials didn’t notify the Perry family of Perry’s death until 11 days after he had been killed and didn’t tell the family exactly how he died. She added law-enforcement told the Perry family that “they should not come to the city of Ocoee.”  

“I’m just elated,” McWhite said. “The proclamation means to me … (that) a change will come, and a change has come and we’re just so proud and thankful that we  (the July Perry family) have been part of the change. We’ve come this far by faith. We are a community of change.”

Commissioner George Oliver III, Ocoee’s first African-American commissioner, also shared his thoughts of the historic moment.

“Justice too long delayed is justice denied,” Oliver said. “However, today, Nov. 20, 2018 … we will no longer be known as a sundown town but a sunrise city that welcomes all to come and live in peace and harmony and prosperity. Today starts a new birth.” 

Prior to the proclamation being read, Mayor Rusty Johnson said he was proud of how far the city has come over the years.

“Having spent most of my life here, I can tell you that the type of thinking that leads to tragic events during a dark period of American history died out two generations ago,” Johnson said. “I’m very proud to say that we have a very diverse town and a very diverse workforce.”