Sunday, January 26, 2014
Why hadn't I heard about the Groveland Four before reading this book? - Chris
When I started reading this book my first thought was, "Hmmm ok Thurgood Marshall, Brown v Board right." I knew that Thurgood Marshall was this bringer of racial justice and that he had gone to the south to aid in the defense of African Americans. Other than that I was in the dark. I knew nothing of the Groveland Boys. One might think that a case centered around the alleged (and wrongly alleged) rape and assault of a white woman by black men in such a time and place tense with racial conflict then the unjust killing of three of the men might be something that was remembered as one of the most infamous racial conflicts of all time. The sad truth which King helps us to see is that these conflicts and accusations were so common in the mid 20th century south that just one instance in a multitude of them gets lost. The Groveland Boys can show us that the racial injustice of the south wasn't just real, it growing, and by the time these boys were arrested, hard to keep track of.
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I talked about this in my post as well, I thought it was extremely odd how little any source talks about this case. Obviously, it is just one of many horrible cases of how racism allows guilty parties to escape completely scot-free, but even with Thurgood Marshall involved, it's barely talked about anywhere. Willis McCall continued to serve as sheriff until 1972, and lived until 1994 a free man, when he passed away at age 84. Shouldn't someone have said something at some point? I guess it's just a representation of the sad fact that nothing gets done about these human rights violations, and even as exposing as this book is, it's coming 70 years too late. It does stand, however, as a good sign of how times have changed and how far our country has come in just those 70 years.
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ReplyDeleteI thought this was concerning as well. Gilbert King actually calls attention to this in the prologue, when he says, “Despite the fact that Marshall brought the Groveland case before the US Supreme Court, it is barely mentioned in civil rights history, law texts, or the many biographies of Thurgood Marshall” (King 4). Gilbert King talks about this lack of education on the Groveland Case in the link provided bellow. The article is very interesting. Apparently, even in Lake County, where the book takes place, the case is not taught by the school district. The journalist encourages students in the area to read his book as part of an expansion to their nonfiction curriculum. I encourage you all to take a read: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-06-16/news/os-lk-lauren-ritchie-devil-in-the-grove-20130614_1_lake-schools-civil-rights-movement-gilbert-king
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