ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law an annual scholarship to benefit descendants of the Ocoee Massacre of 1920.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. signs into law annual scholarship to benefit descendants of Ocoee Massacre
- Law aims to offer 50 scholarships annually to descendants of the massacre
- Current African American residents of Ocoee also eligible for the scholarship
- Related: Black History Month: Bills Would Ensure July Perry's Sacrifice Isn't Forgotten
The Randolph Bracy Ocoee Scholarship aims to offer 50 scholarships annually to descendants of the Ocoee Massacre or any current African American resident of Ocoee, according to a Florida Channel video.
The video features state Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Ocoee, who referred to the scholarships as “something that was worked on by myself, the Senate president and the (House Speaker) well before session started.”
The Ocoee Massacre stands among the darkest days in Central Florida and U.S. history. A group of Blacks tried to vote in the 1920 presidential election, and a mob of white men lynched Black businessman July Perry, who fought for Black voting rights.
The white mob also burned Black homes and businesses and killed dozens of people in northern Ocoee.
“The state is trying to address the racial violence of the past and the detriment that it did to a group of people,” Bracy said in the Florida Channel video. “And so this is small step forward in addressing what happened.”
Bracy previously emerged as an architect of a Florida law that directed a task force to find ways to include the 1920 Massacre in public school instruction.
Bracy plans to discuss the scholarship in a news conference at noon Thursday at Ocoee City Hall.
Spectrum News 13's Tammie Fields interviews Florida Sen. Randolph Bracy about the scholarships.