“Inviting descendants to Ocoee for remembrance events allows for truth telling and healing of past harms,” said Rachel C. Allen, executive director of the Peace and Justice Institute and a member of the Alliance for Truth and Justice, which hosted an event earlier in the day for the descendants at the Orlando Museum of Art.

“The City of Ocoee has changed as a result of facing its painful past and a more open and welcoming city is the result,” she said.

Thirty-five descendants and their spouses attended the Ocoee Remembers ceremony. Former members of the city’s Human Relations Diversity Board were also in attendance as were Mayor Rusty Johnson, City Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen of District 2 and City Commissioner Richard Firstner of District 3.

“I appreciate what the city has done … and what they’re doing. I think it’s a start,” said Andrea Riley who came from Willingboro, New Jersey, to attend the events. Her great-great-grandmother was Annie Hamiter who sent a letter concealed in a box of citrus (now in the the Library of Congress) to Mrs. Corinna M. Huston. Her first-person account of the horrors she described as “one of the most wickedest happenings of a life time,” provided a different picture of the massacre than what the mainstream newspapers were reporting at the time.

While paying tribute to men, women and children inscribed on the Memorial Wall, Johnson went off script in an impromptu, heartfelt moment to address descendants directly.

“I want to say something real quick about that,” Johnson said. “I want you families to know … if you were here in Ocoee back 100 years ago, you’re still an Ocoeean. For us, I consider you to always be an Ocoeean. And that’s why we want to pay respect to everybody. And families … if you’re family, you’re still part of Ocoee. So, we want you to know that. I want you to know that. We are honored, especially honored, to have those descendants of those families here with us today.”

SIDEBAR: Descendants want Ocoee to take next steps

Some survivors’ descendants told VoxPopuli Saturday that they want Ocoee to continue to build on the progress made toward reconciliation after the 1920 Election Day Massacre.

“They’ve given us a public apology, which was fine,” Sha’ron McWhite, the great-grand niece of Julius “July” Perry told VoxPopuli.

She pointed to the Julius “July” Perry Memorial Highway (SR 438 between Clarke Road and Winters Landing Drive), which she described as “nice.”

Her great uncle, lynched during the violence, is often the face of the Ocoee Massacre. He was a man of considerable property and a respected leader in the Black community who advocated for voting rights for Blacks and women.

McWhite said the apology and highway, were a “first step” to “begin the healing process.”

“But I think we can do more by publicizing and educating not only the people that live in Ocoee, but the people that live in Central Florida, because all of us have been affected.”

She wants to see Ocoee construct a museum to the Massacre. “It needs to be in the city of Ocoee so that we can share artifacts; people can share memories; people can go in and visit and it would be a landmark.”

Brigitte Felder, of Jacksonville, is a great-great-granddaughter of Annie Hamiter, the one who secreted a letter in the box of fruit. She told VoxPopuli that she appreciates what Ocoee has done, but that her family is looking for reparations.

“We are still broken because property, land was stolen,” Felder said. “My great-great-grandmother, Mrs. Hamiter, she was ran off her land … They left everything behind … Reparation is something that the family hopes that we will be able to get soon. I think that’s just owed to the families from everything they lost … Everything they worked so hard for. The sweat and blood and then to get burned out of your land like that … or even be killed. I mean, do justice.”