Yesterday, This Was Home delves into the horrific events of Election Day in Central Florida 100 years ago. The exhibit focuses not only on the 1920 massacre and the lynching of July Perry, not to mention driving Black residents out of Ocoee, but also other historical and recent incidents of racism, hatred and terror, creating a framework for understanding how such a terrible event could happen.
Acknowledgment of social transformation — and how not enough has changed — in the century since the Election Day massacre is also presented in the exhibit. That includes the historic Black Lives Matter demonstrations that spread across the nation last summer.
On Thursday, April 29 (tomorrow!), at 6:30 p.m. History Center curators will take you on a behind-the-scenes tour for a mere $8. That’s a bargain for the extra insight, as well as the good feeling you’ll get for supporting the History Center’s research, you’ll no doubt get out of this walk-through.
Register for this tour through the History Center’s website.
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100 years ago in Ocoee, Black residents were murdered and driven off the land they owned, yet few know the story
This article appears in City Guide 2021.