They sent their best investigator and activist against sexual assault none other than the famous Rosa Parks. Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old African-American sharecropper, was walking home from church in Abbeville, Alabama, on the night of September 3rd, 1944, when she was abducted and raped by six white. Recy Taylor was an African American woman who was gang-raped by a group of young, white men in Alabama in 1944. The case of Joan Little became a cause of celebration for those in the civil rights, feminist, and anti-death penalty movements. At the second hearing, investigators mentioned the interviews they held with the assailants. Recy Taylor (born December 31, 1919)[2] is an African American woman from Abbeville in Henry County, Alabama. Mrs. Taylor soon contacted the police, and the Sheriff identified one of the suspects based on her description of the car. In 1959, Rosa and her sons were finally granted parole and Rosa lived in Atlanta until her death in 1980. To this day, neither the city or the state have apologized to the boys for their treatment. Cook backed up the sheriffs story. Despite the outcome, Taylors case was a major step towards the formation of the civil rights movement. It is Recy Taylor and rare other black women like her who spoke up first when danger was greatest, Buirski said. [2]:xvii The NAACP sent down their best investigator and activist against sexual assaults on black women, Rosa Parks. When students at A&M heard what happened, groups began to plan protests to demand justice for Owens. On the 2nd of May, 1959, Betty Jean Owens sat in a car with two African-American men and one other African-American female. Seven men abducted Taylor that night: Hugo Wilson, Billy Howerton, Herbert Lovett, Luther Lee, Robert Gamble, Joe Culpepper and Dillard York. Citizens reported events of the day to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Parks and her allies formed the Alabama Committee for Equal Justice for Taylor, "with support from national labor unions, African-American organizations, and women's groups." The documentary The Rape of Recy Taylor revealed that the attack left Taylor unable to have any more children. Certainly, many would agree that the struggle is still not over. Her daughter Joyce Lee Taylor tragically died in a car accident in 1967. The boys mothers were fired from their jobs, and the NAACP had to relocate them to nearby towns to help ensure their safety. . Furthermore, in February 1959, North Carolina officials requested that the boys mothers sign a waiver to release their children. It challenged the age-old question of whether an African-American woman had the right to defend oneself against white male sexual assault. The Rape of Recy Taylor She was driven into a grove of pine trees, where, one by one, six men brutally. On the 3rd September 1944, an African-American sharecropper named Recy Taylor walked home from church with a friend and her son. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. When the sheriff returned with Mr. Wilson, Recy Taylor identified Wilson as one of her attackers. By exonerating Joan Little for killing a man in a position of authority, Joan Little became the first woman in US history to be acquitted using the defense that she used deadly force to resist sexual assault. A photo of Recy Taylor and her family in the Chicago Defender. The next day, the court charged Parks with disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. Through Rosa Parks and the struggle for justice for Black women, her story is associated with the Montgomery Bus Boycott which is a part of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. . Eventually the car stopped, and seven young white men, armed with guns and knives, stepped out. Naturally, the black community of Henry County was outraged. Through their testimonies, Black women galvanized efforts against sexualized violence and sparked larger campaigns for racial justice. Recy Taylor died on December 28, 2017, a few days before her 98th birthday. John Stratford died from multiple blows to the head. Her case was later taken up by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The committees ability to mobilize local people and rally national attention laid a foundation for the formal civil rights movement. https://www.aaihs.org/the-historical-erasure-of-violence-against-black-women/, accessed July 9, 2020. Seven men raped Recy Corbitt Taylor on September 3, 1944 in Abbeville, Alabama. Despite being blindfolded, Taylor was able to describe the car, leading the sheriff to question Hugo Wilson. The case received renewed public attention with a 2010 book, a 2017 documentary and when Taylor was mentioned by Oprah Winfrey during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2018 Golden Globes. She was 97. In the boycott campaign that followed, Jo Ann Robinson, one of its leaders, played on the idea of the historic destruction of black families, stating: Next time it may be you, or your daughter, or your mother. I can't help but tell the truth of what they done to me.". West Daniel reported Taylor's kidnapping and identified the car as belonging to Hugo Wilson. Despite the threats against her life, Taylor and her family immediately went to the police. Gordon, Taylor. Till was a fourteen-year-old African-American lynched by a community in Mississippi in 1955 after a white woman said she was offended by him in her familys grocery store. They responded by sending their best investigator and antirape activistRosa Parks. Taylors rape was not an exceptional occurrence. Though Taylor was known to be a diligent worker and dedicated churchgoer, the sheriff and others would eventually make false claims that Taylor had been jailed and had a history of venereal disease. But with the publication of At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power (2010), historian Danielle L. McGuire brought fresh attention to Taylor's ordeal. He wrote down everything she said and a radio address hit the country early the next morning with details of the event. [17][18][19][20] The film, which won the Venice Biennale's Human Rights Night Award,[21][22] focused on Taylor and her family recounting their struggle for justice, and sought to expose a context of systemic racism that fostered the crime and coverup, and persists today. New York: Vintage Books. This is a carousel with slides. GREAT NEWS! Jackson, all influential men in the Montgomery community. When more white Americans boarded the bus, the driver moved the sign for coloured people back a row. Vigilantes firebombed Taylors house after she reported the assault. Photo Credit: Flickr. [2]:67 Even though three eyewitnesses identified Wilson as the driver of the car, the police did not call in any of the men Wilson named as assailants, and Wilson was fined $250 (equivalent to $3,850 in 2021). [3] Assault [ edit] It was only there that Taylor found out none of the assailants had been arrested. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. The incident occurred on September 3, 1944 in Abbeville, Alabama when Taylor and a friend were walking home from church. Hugo Wilson, the owner of the car, identified the six white men who raped Mrs. Taylor as: Herbert Lovett, Luther Lee, Joe Culpepper, Dillard York, Billy Howerton, and Robert Gamble. Rose Lee Ingram, a mother of twelve, became the center of one of the most controversial capital punishment cases seen in US History. [2]:13 After five minutes of deliberation, the jury dismissed the case. The case also contributed to the wider discussion of white mens sexual violence against black women and what happened if they rejected their advances. Taylor's rape, refusal to remain silent, and the subsequent court cases were among the early instances of nationwide protest and activism among the African-American community, and ended up providing an organizational spark in the civil rights movement. [10], The black community was shocked at the second dismissal of Taylor's case. This tension then sparked the fight that resulted in his death. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/one-year-of-metoo, accessed July 9, 2020. "[2]:36 Despite the outcome, the case was considered a major victory for the formation of the civil rights movement because of the successful mobilization of activists across the nation: "The Recy Taylor case brought the building blocks of the Montgomery bus boycott together a decade [before the boycott]. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Dixon, would later form the Montgomery Improvement Association, which was responsible for the 1955 bus boycotts. Common in Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Learn more about managing a memorial . 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. As documentary director Nancy Buirski told NBC News, "It is Recy Taylor and rare other Black women like her who spoke up first when danger was greatest.". Oops, something didn't work. "[2]:17 After various other newspaper publications and widespread knowledge of the attack, black activists started writing to the Governor of Alabama, Chauncey Sparks. This account has been disabled. While it showed a lot of progress in that white men were now accountable for their actions against white women, there was still progress to be made as it appeared only a black man would gain the death penalty of rape. For Taylor, the decision not to keep quiet was an extraordinarily brave one. The state has a lengthy history with sexual assault cases, and those that remember it, do not look back on it kindly. It is these strong womens voices of the 40s and early 50s and their efforts to take back their bodies that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other movements that followed, notably the one we are witnessing today.. A car pulled up on the side of the road with seven armed men inside, including US Army Private Herbert Lovett. At this point, more organizations rallied to Recys defense. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. If Sheriff Gramble had hoped it was over that night, he was mistaken. After a photograph of the boys with bruising appeared showing them reuniting with their mother, an international outcry ensued. Finally, the racial component thus drew the attention of civil rights activities. But Ill get into that later. I wasn't expecting that. Black progressive women became the leaders of the campaign to free the Ingrams, once more pushing the agenda of black womens rights to the forefront of global discussion. She was very welcoming "[25], At the 2018 State of the Union, members of the Congressional Black Caucus invited Taylor's family to attend the speech and wore red "Recy" pins in honor of Taylor. The driver called the police to arrest Parks. 2018 https://www.therapeofrecytaylor.com, accessed July 9, 2020. In addition to her brother, she is survived by two sisters, Lillie Kinsey and Mary Murry; a granddaughter; and several great-grandchildren. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186211808/hugo-wilson. Three months later, on the 27th August 1974, police discovered the body of jailer Clarence Alligood. [2]:31, After Governor Sparks launched an investigation, Sheriff Gamble was interviewed again about the measures he took to ensure justice on the behalf of Taylor. As word spread, several black activist organizations formed the Citizens Committee for Gertrude Perkins. Dumped out of the car, Taylor removed her blindfold and stumbled toward safety. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. 2018. Du Bois; Mary Church Terrell, a suffragist and founder of the National Association of Colored Women; Charlotte Hawkins Brown, a popular clubwoman and respected educator; Ira De A. Reid, a sociologist and assistant director of the newly formed Southern Regional Council; John Sengstacke, the publisher of the Chicago Defender; Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes of Harlem Renaissance fame; Lillian Smith, author of the controversial interracial love story Strange Fruit; and Broadway impresario Oscar Hammerstein II." Four white men, William Collinsworth, Ollie Stoutamire, David Beagles, and Patrick Scarborough, approached the car at Jake Gaither Park. Rosa is an honest, well-mannered, old woman who simply could not muster the courage to stand. However, even with this information including several of the alleged assailants testimonies, the attorney general "failed to convince the jurors of Henry County that there was enough evidence to indict the seven suspects when he presented Taylor's case on February 14, 1945. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. SNYC members, together with Rosa Parks and other primarily female activists helped spread Recy Taylor's story all the way up the coast to Harlem, New York. We have set your language to Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Her story speaks to the resolve of Black women to channel their pain and anger into action. Please reset your password. DuBois, Mary Church Terrell and Langston Hughes got involved. Taylors story made national news in 1944 when she was kidnapped at gunpoint and brutally raped by six white men. Photo credit: Colorlines.com. The crime was extensively covered in the black press and an early catalyst for the civil rights movement. This was a common practice in the south for white Southerners, even racist ones, to visit Black sex workers. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Wilson gave up the names of his accomplices: Dillard York, Billy Howerton, Herbert Lovett, Luther Lee, Joe Culpeper, and Robert Gramble. Taylor's house was soon firebombed, so she, her husband and daughter had to move in with her father and younger siblings. Instead, the police merely fined Wilson $250. What was their crime? Recy Taylor, Whose 1944 Rape Inspired Black Women's . To protect his family, Taylor's father maintained an armed vigil at night and slept during the day. But if you tell it, were going to kill you, Taylor told NPR in 2011. The black men were forced to kneel and then made to drive away. In November 1947, a white sixty-four-year-old sharecropper named John Ed Stratford confronted Rosa. The jury found the men guilty but asked for a recommendation for mercy. Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old African-American sharecropper, was walking home from church in Abbeville, Alabama, on the night of September 3rd, 1944, when she was abducted and raped by six white men. The court issued her a fine and sparked community outrage. Despite the warning, Taylor related details of the attack to her father, husband and the sheriff. Hefalsely claimed hestarted an independent investigation after the attack and that he arrested all the men involved after the assault. Later in the month, Winfrey was on assignment for 60 Minutes and coincidentally ended up in Abbeville, where she stopped to pay her respects at Taylors grave. On Sept. 3, 24-year-old Recy walked home from Rock Hill Holiness Church in Abbeville, Alabama, with a friend, 61-year-old Fannie Daniel, and her teenage son West Daniel. Wilson denied being present and claimed to know nothing about it. On the 12th June 1959, Betty Jean Owens told the jury, and four-hundred witnesses, what happened that evening. Within 30 minutes of her telling Cook what happened, Cook had Wilson, his father, and the old green sedan at his store. Wilson named the others who had been with him: Herbert Lovett, Dillard York, Luther Lee, Willie Joe Culpepper, Robert Gamble and Billy Howerton (Howerton was the one who said he didn't take part in the rape). Astrological Sign: Capricorn, Death Year: 2017, Death date: December 29, 2017, Death State: Alabama, Death City: Abbeville, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Recy Taylor Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/activists/recy-taylor, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: September 15, 2020, Original Published Date: January 8, 2018. [13], State Representative Dexter Grimsley, along with Abbeville Mayor Ryan Blalock and Henry County Probate Judge JoAnn Smith, also apologized to Taylor for her treatment. At the 2018 Golden Globes, Winfrey reminded the world of what Taylor had gone through, stating, "I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years, and even now tormented, goes marching on." The wider context of this case helps explain, though not justify, the severity of their sentencing. There were committee branches in multiple states, and well-known people such as W.E.B. Yet a second grand jury still failed to provide indictments in February 1945 (like the first, the members were all white and male, and some had family connections to the accused). I dont want any troublemakers here in Abbeville, he warned her. Yet none of the men were arrested. The next day Taylor moved in with her father and siblings. McGuire, Danielle L. 2010. Stories that matter delivered to your inbox, only one man actually admitted to raping Taylor, white men to racially-target and sexually assault black women, At The Dark End Of The Street: Black Women, Rape And Resistance A New History Of The Civil Rights Movement From Rosa Parks To The Rise of Black Power. She was then handcuffed, forcibly removed from the bus, and arrested by two policemen. The court charged Joan Little with first-degree murder. A car pulled up on the side of the road with seven armed men inside, including US Army Private Herbert Lovett. Over a week later she turned herself in to North Carolina authorities and admitted to killing Alligood while defending herself against sexual assault. Try again later. The defense tried to present the men as respectable, and characterize Owens as a whore that wanted sex. All were students at Florida A&M University. The stereotypical image of Rosa Parks sees her a symbol of virtuous black womanhood. Finally, the case also demonstrated the lack of protection for black motherhood. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. At trial, the prosecution argued Little simply seduced Alligood just to murder him and escape. Littles victory showed the assertion of rights no longer depended so drastically on social respectability. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Her Reverend bailed her out and told her that she brought the Revolution to Montgomery. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Hugo Wilson, confessed to the rape and named the other men involved (Dillard York, Billy Howerton, Herbert . This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. The United States Congress called her the mother of the freedom movement. Black activists in Alabama and throughout the south rallied behind Taylor and demanded punishment for her assailants. Try again. On September 3, 1944, Taylor was kidnapped while leaving church and gang-raped by six white men. However, Wilson also claimed that they had paid Taylor to have sex. [2]:33 Investigators interviewed the rapists, and four of the seven men "admitted to having intercourse with Taylor, but argued that she was essentially a prostitute and willing participant. However, talk of "the brutal rape and phony hearing" resonated through NAACP chapters throughout the south and within black communities. None of the men had been arrested, and there had not been a police lineup, so Taylor could not identify her attackers. The seven men forced Taylor into the car at gunpoint and proceeded to drive her to a patch of trees on the side of the road. But the police never arrested anyone and never gave Taylor a lineup so she could . . 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