Community Research | Roots In The City

COMMUNITY RESEARCH

Roots In the City is directly involved in community research stretching from the Carribean to northern Florida. If you are interested in getting involved in any of the below projects, or to suggest new projects, please contact us.

Remembering Rosewood
In January 1923, the African American town of Rosewood, Florida was the scene of Florida's best known racial disturbance in which at least six blacks and two whites were killed. All who died were victims of the era in which they lived. Marvin Dunn, Executive Director of Roots In The City, recently purchased five acres of land in Rosewood, becoming the first black person to purchase land in Rosewood proper since the incident. In an effort to bring people of good will together, Dr. Dunn hosted the invitation-only "Return to Rosewood Memorial Event" on January 2, 2011. The service took place on the property which probably held the Rosewood railroad depot. Rosewood descendants, members of the Levy County community and other guests were invited to attend this historic event.

The Willie James Howard Story
Willie James Howard was a fifteen-year old African American child who was lynched by three white men in Live Oak, Florida on January 2, 1944. His offense was writing a love letter to a white girl, whose father led the attack on the boy. The boy's father, who was also abducted, had to watch his son being forced at gunpoint to jump into the Suwannee River with his hands and feet tied. An all-white Suwannee County grand jury refused to indict the men although the girl's father admitted abducting Willie James and tying his hands and feet on the way to the Suwannee River. The local sheriff ordered the body buried within twenty-four hours. Although fully apprised of events, the governor refused to intervene. Willie James, who was an only child, was buried in an unmarked grave for over sixty years. Now there is a movement to reopen the case. Learn More.

Black Seminoles in the Bahamas
In the early 19th Century, a small band of black slaves who escaped from plantations in Georgia and South Carolina forged new lives among the Seminoles in Florida before fleeing in open canoes across the Florida Straits to Andros Island, Bahamas. When they reached Andros Island, they established an isolated community that they called Red Bays. More than 100 Black Seminoles settled at Red Bays during the 1820’s, where they were allowed to live in freedom by the British government. Today, the descendants of the Black Seminoles carry on many of the traditions of their ancestors.
In 2007, Camillus House commissioned Roots In The City to make a documentary film and to collect photographs and artwork reflecting the history and current life in this unique community. The film and accompanying exhibit were debuted on June 10, 2008 at the Lyric Theater in Miami, Florida. The exhibition is permanently available for public viewing at Camillus House.