Mass Media before 1940: The Rosewood Massacre of 1923
American journalism can trace its humble beginnings back in the 1800s as it was initially used as a vehicle for political campaign in gaining the American independence. Journalists were guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which helped in advancing the role of the American press in society and the political scene. The American press became a major support element to various political parties in the country, including other organizations and groups such as the religious institutions. American journalism experienced what could be called technological advancements during the 1840s as the telegraph and other fast printing presses were used to keep up with the rapid economic and demographic growth occurring during that time. When the 1900s came, newspapers have become profitable business ventures for the owners and main source of information for the people as newspaper carried stories of advocacies, political news, entertainment, and sensationalism. Before the popularity of the television, Americans read several newspapers daily. However, beginning the 1920s, the people began experiencing another technological boom with the rise of the television and the radio, further bolstering the presence and importance of American media.
Living in the 1920s, there was a pronounced cultural and social conflict everywhere. New cultural attitudes shaped our society with regard to race, evolution, and immigration. There were also issues pertaining to social classes as people recognized and pushed the idea about White supremacy. Blacks were mostly considered beneath the White Americans and thus, were only given menial jobs and with fewer rights in society. In schools, children were segregated into Black children and White children as they were not allowed to mingle with one another. Men and women’s roles became more pronounced and despite the advancements and innovations, the emerging modern culture was still enmeshed with the more traditional and conservative ideals of the time.
Probably, in today’s perspective, many people would believe that riots were a commonplace during the 1920s, the pre-civil rights era. I would say there may be some truth to it as immigration both of the Whites and the Blacks increased. Racial violence was typical all over the nation, as individual incidents grew in number, including attacks on groups and communities. As a journalist, it was scary considering that people all depended on newspapers for current events, thus, I had to ensure that what was being reported was true. Lynchings became rampant, which further incensed the Blacks as the White people imposed their supremacy.
Among the tragic events that occurred in 1923 was the Rosewood massacre in Florida, where a whole community was burned down to the grounds. Rosewood, a small but prosperous settlement area and a predominantly black community was just a couple of miles away from the predominantly white town of Sumner. With a few hundred residents, Rosewood has its own baseball team and a Masonic temple. While it was not a really peaceful time, at least there were no reports of fights between the whites and the blacks during that time. However, everything was changed when, on January 1, 1923, a married white woman, Fannie Taylor, told her husband that she was assaulted by a black fugitive, “a nigger” in her own words. Taylor never said a name but when the Sheriff came, he said it was Jesse Hunter. There was no clear evidence against him, but still, a manhunt was launched in Rosewood to supposedly avenge Taylor.
This began the weeklong kidnapping, torture, and lynching of black people in Rosewood as the white men continued their search for Hunter. Even without clear confirmation, Sam Carter, a black craftsman from Rosewood, suffered in the hands of the Whites based only on suspicions that he was helping hunter escape. In defense, the black residents armed themselves as well. On January 4, a white posse fired into the house of Sylvester Carrier, again based on suspicions that he was harboring Hunter, and killed and elderly woman in the process. A gunfight ensued between Carrier and the white attackers that lasted into early morning. People from both sides died on the spot.
Angered that the blacks fired back at them causing their white companions to bleed to death, the posse left, reorganized themselves, and returned with more men. Thus, on January 5, about 200-300 white men attacked the town of Rosewood that killed an estimated 30-40 black people on sight, including women and children. Not satisfied, the white men burned the town to the ground, which led to the wipe out of the town from the map. Those who were lucky enough to run fled and hid in the woods. Some fled by train going to Gainesville, Florida and never returned. Reports claimed that after the incident, a mob of white men came back and continued to burn all structures, houses, churches, and any signs of life in Rosewood, even dogs. This was witnessed by about 150 people, but when investigation began, no one would admit that they saw what happened. Much later, survivors recounted the events that transpired and claimed Fannie Taylor made false accusations against Jessie Hunter as a cover up for her extramarital affair with another white man. In spite of wide media coverage of the incident, the state did nothing.
The tragedy is forever etched in my mind as I went to the site a couple of days after the incident transpired. The stench of death was everywhere, even with the smell of smoke and gun powder. The once prosperous Rosewood town has become a battleground and symbol of extreme racial discrimination. What made matters worse is that accusations and attacks were made simply based on suspicion – despite the lack of clear evidence. Many of the survivors share the same feelings and thoughts about social stratification during that time, apart from the issue on racial discrimination. Rosewood, while not the epitome of a rich black community, was faring better than Sumner economically. Thus, in conclusion, they claim that despite not finding Hunter in Rosewood, the whites were probably astonished to see black people living and leading better lives than them, the white people.
As a journalist, I would have investigated further the events that transpired during that fateful week considering the number of people who died and the reasons for their deaths. It would probably have been very controversial and daunting considering the high intensity emotions running during those times with people resorting to anger and retribution as a way to settle differences. Because male journalists were expected to carry out political news and other heavy topics, women during that time were limited to covering fashion, social news, and other women related news articles. Thus, I can say that gender issues would have played a role when covering the Rosewood massacre because it would be expected that men would be the ones writing about these types of news stories.
Considering that this was the time when television and radio was becoming popular media for news and information, apart from the newspapers, I would most likely still dabble in newspaper writing and radio broadcasting because people during that time were mostly used to reading newspapers. In addition, newspapers were run at least twice daily, which enables the locals to receive news reports in the morning and in the evening. As for radio, I would prefer that over the television because during that time, a radio unit was much cheaper than a television set. Thus, more people are inclined to buy the radio more than the television. I can readily prepare my news reports easily and report the news on radio without minding whether I would look good on television or not, since all people will hear is the voice.
References
Dye, R.T. (n.d.). Rosewood, Florida: The destruction of an African American community. Retrieved from http://users.clas.ufl.edu/davidson/arch%20of%20aa%20life%20and%20culture/Week%2011-14/Dye,%20Historian%20Vol%2058(3)%20Spring%201996.pdf
Glenza, J. (2016). Rosewood massacre a harrowing tale of racism and the road toward reparations. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/03/rosewood-florida-massacre-racial-violence-reparations
Goodloe, T. (n.d.). Rosewood massacre (1923). Retrieved from http://www.blackpast.org/aah/rosewood-massacre-1923
World Heritage Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Rosewood massacre. Retrieved from http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/rosewood_massacre
