Rosewood (film)
Encyclopedia
Rosewood is a 1997 feature film, directed by John Singleton. While based on historic events of the 1923 Rosewood massacre in Florida
, the film introduces fictional characters and changes from historic accounts. It stars Ving Rhames
as a man who travels to the town and becomes a witness. The supporting cast includes Don Cheadle
as Sylvester, who also becomes a witness to the riot, and Jon Voight
as a white store owner who lives in a village near Rosewood. The three characters become entangled in an attempt to save people from racist whites attacking the blacks of Rosewood.
Due to its scenes of violence, assault, and sex, and profuse use of racial slurs and curses, the film received an Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) rating of R. It was favorably reviewed by many critics, more than any John Singleton film since Boyz n the Hood
. The film was not a commercial success and it was unable to recoup its $30 million budget at the box office.
Considerable debate took place regarding the film's fictionalization of events. In the 1990s the state of Florida commissioned an investigation into the massacre. The film departs from what is known, especially in the portrayal of the number of fatalities. In another example of changes, the Ving Rhames' character fights a white mob with pistols; this did not happen. The siege of the Carrier house did take place.
, in which whites attacked blacks and burned the town down. A mentally unstable white woman, Fanny Taylor, claims to have been raped by a black man. Historical accounts note that this was never proven. The movie shows a white man, not Fanny’s husband, in her bedroom where they have sex. Shorty after he finishes, he prepares to go back to work. She gets upset and hits him inciting him to beat her. Some black workers outside heard the events but did nothing. When they told about it, their account of a white man beating Fanny was not believed. Singleton presents it as looking as if Fanny was covering up her cheating on her husband by blaming it on a black man. The white residents readily believe Fanny's account, demonstrating the power of racial stereotyping and fears. The black residents of Rosewood quickly become targeted by the white males of nearby Sumner and others who arrive for a fight, including members of the Ku Klux Klan
. Mobs formed swiftly.
The movie features the fictional character of Mann, played by Ving Rhames is created. Mann is a WWI veteran who is traveling around in search of land. He meets and falls in love with a woman in Rosewood and has stayed there. After Fanny tells her story of rape, Mann leaves town. He is afraid of being lynched as a suspected stranger. He hears stories of the attacks and returns to the town to save the woman he loves, together with children she cares for.
After the whites started generally attacking and killing blacks, all of the blacks fled from Rosewood or were killed. First the women and children fled, followed by men who survived. People left their homes and land and all of their possessions behind to get away from the murderous white men that raided their town (D'Orso).
Some white men who lived in Rosewood helped black people escape from the mob. Railroad conductors smuggled people out of town on the rail cars that ran nearby. In the movie, Voigt as Wright asks the train conductors to pick up the women and children. Other blacks took refuge in white people’s homes, including Wright's. Racism was shown by the mob's avoiding Wright's house but burning down those of blacks. They did not bother with known white houses. Although it was dangerous for them to do, some white men like Wright protected blacks from death.
In the movie, the group believed Carrier held information about the escaped convict Hunter. Wright let the Sheriff take Carrier, because the officer said he only wanted to question him. When Carrier said he didn't have any information, he was shot immediately by one of the mob. Wright gets upset and the mob accuses him of being soft on blacks. The scene shows that most of the white men didn't agree with what was going on, but were too afraid to face the mob.
The movie portrayed towns near Sumner trying to prevent the violence from spreading. At one point the men of Sumner were following the trail of some men. But when they get to the border between their town and the next one over, white men stopped them. They protected their black citizens, saying they are law abiding and peaceful, and Singleton demonstrated that not everyone agreed with the riot.
As word spread to the federal government and national newspapers, the media splintered in its portrayal of events. Some portrayed the murder at Sylvester Carrier's as appropriate to stop the black men from arming. They relied on rumors and fear. Southern white newspapers explained mob's actions as the way to avenge the rape of Fanny and keep blacks in their place. The Afro-American newspapers encouraged blacks and praised them for staying behind to defend their homes and property. Officially the death toll was eight people total, two whites and six blacks. Other accounts by survivors and the Afro-American newspapers were of a higher toll. The movie portrayed the newspapers as contributing to the riot; men came from neighboring towns and even states to put down the riot.
At the end of the movie, a narrative states that some blacks and one white testified as witnesses in court in the a 1990s suit of survivors against the state for its failure to protect the people of Rosewood. (In the 1980s, newspaper reporters investigated and publicized the long-secret story.) This was followed by a state investigation and report. Florida was the first state to pay reparations to survivors and their descendants for a racial riot.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the film introduces fictional characters and changes from historic accounts. It stars Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
as a man who travels to the town and becomes a witness. The supporting cast includes Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
as Sylvester, who also becomes a witness to the riot, and Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
as a white store owner who lives in a village near Rosewood. The three characters become entangled in an attempt to save people from racist whites attacking the blacks of Rosewood.
Due to its scenes of violence, assault, and sex, and profuse use of racial slurs and curses, the film received an Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(MPAA) rating of R. It was favorably reviewed by many critics, more than any John Singleton film since Boyz n the Hood
Boyz N the Hood
Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American hood film written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett and Regina King, the film depicts life in poor South Central Los Angeles, California and was filmed and released...
. The film was not a commercial success and it was unable to recoup its $30 million budget at the box office.
Considerable debate took place regarding the film's fictionalization of events. In the 1990s the state of Florida commissioned an investigation into the massacre. The film departs from what is known, especially in the portrayal of the number of fatalities. In another example of changes, the Ving Rhames' character fights a white mob with pistols; this did not happen. The siege of the Carrier house did take place.
Plot
The movie of Rosewood relates the historical events of a January 1923 race riot in Rosewood, FloridaRosewood, Florida
The Rosewood massacre was a violent, racially motivated conflict that took place during the first week of January 1923 in rural Levy County, Florida, United States. At least six blacks and two whites were killed, and the town of Rosewood was abandoned and destroyed in what contemporary news reports...
, in which whites attacked blacks and burned the town down. A mentally unstable white woman, Fanny Taylor, claims to have been raped by a black man. Historical accounts note that this was never proven. The movie shows a white man, not Fanny’s husband, in her bedroom where they have sex. Shorty after he finishes, he prepares to go back to work. She gets upset and hits him inciting him to beat her. Some black workers outside heard the events but did nothing. When they told about it, their account of a white man beating Fanny was not believed. Singleton presents it as looking as if Fanny was covering up her cheating on her husband by blaming it on a black man. The white residents readily believe Fanny's account, demonstrating the power of racial stereotyping and fears. The black residents of Rosewood quickly become targeted by the white males of nearby Sumner and others who arrive for a fight, including members of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Mobs formed swiftly.
The movie features the fictional character of Mann, played by Ving Rhames is created. Mann is a WWI veteran who is traveling around in search of land. He meets and falls in love with a woman in Rosewood and has stayed there. After Fanny tells her story of rape, Mann leaves town. He is afraid of being lynched as a suspected stranger. He hears stories of the attacks and returns to the town to save the woman he loves, together with children she cares for.
After the whites started generally attacking and killing blacks, all of the blacks fled from Rosewood or were killed. First the women and children fled, followed by men who survived. People left their homes and land and all of their possessions behind to get away from the murderous white men that raided their town (D'Orso).
Some white men who lived in Rosewood helped black people escape from the mob. Railroad conductors smuggled people out of town on the rail cars that ran nearby. In the movie, Voigt as Wright asks the train conductors to pick up the women and children. Other blacks took refuge in white people’s homes, including Wright's. Racism was shown by the mob's avoiding Wright's house but burning down those of blacks. They did not bother with known white houses. Although it was dangerous for them to do, some white men like Wright protected blacks from death.
In the movie, the group believed Carrier held information about the escaped convict Hunter. Wright let the Sheriff take Carrier, because the officer said he only wanted to question him. When Carrier said he didn't have any information, he was shot immediately by one of the mob. Wright gets upset and the mob accuses him of being soft on blacks. The scene shows that most of the white men didn't agree with what was going on, but were too afraid to face the mob.
The movie portrayed towns near Sumner trying to prevent the violence from spreading. At one point the men of Sumner were following the trail of some men. But when they get to the border between their town and the next one over, white men stopped them. They protected their black citizens, saying they are law abiding and peaceful, and Singleton demonstrated that not everyone agreed with the riot.
As word spread to the federal government and national newspapers, the media splintered in its portrayal of events. Some portrayed the murder at Sylvester Carrier's as appropriate to stop the black men from arming. They relied on rumors and fear. Southern white newspapers explained mob's actions as the way to avenge the rape of Fanny and keep blacks in their place. The Afro-American newspapers encouraged blacks and praised them for staying behind to defend their homes and property. Officially the death toll was eight people total, two whites and six blacks. Other accounts by survivors and the Afro-American newspapers were of a higher toll. The movie portrayed the newspapers as contributing to the riot; men came from neighboring towns and even states to put down the riot.
At the end of the movie, a narrative states that some blacks and one white testified as witnesses in court in the a 1990s suit of survivors against the state for its failure to protect the people of Rosewood. (In the 1980s, newspaper reporters investigated and publicized the long-secret story.) This was followed by a state investigation and report. Florida was the first state to pay reparations to survivors and their descendants for a racial riot.
Cast
- Ving RhamesVing RhamesIrving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
as Mann - Don CheadleDon CheadleDonald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
as Sylvester Carrier - Jon VoightJon VoightJonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
as John Wright - Bruce McGillBruce McGillBruce Travis McGill is an American actor who has an extensive list of credits in film and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jack Dalton on the television series MacGyver and as Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day in National Lampoon's Animal House.-Early life:McGill was born in San...
as Duke Purdy - Loren DeanLoren DeanLoren Dean is an American actor. He has appeared onstage and in feature films.-Early life:Loren Dean Jovicic was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His mother worked as a family and marriage counselor and his father was in the clothing business. His parents divorced when he was a small child...
as James Taylor - Esther RolleEsther RolleEsther Rolle was an American actress. She was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Florida Evans on the CBS television sitcom Maude and its spin-off series Good Times.-Biography:...
as Aunt Sarah - Elise NealElise NealElise Neal is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Neal, a Memphis, Tennessee native, was born on March 14, 1966, the daughter of a nurse and a construction worker. She attended Lakeview Elementary. She was a ballet dancer and a cheerleader...
as Beulah (Scrappie) - Bridgid CoulterBridgid CoulterBridgid Coulter is an American actress who has worked in both film and television. She grew up in Berkeley, California. Coulter appeared in popular television programs such as A Different World, Family Matters, Class of '96, Murder, She Wrote, and Martin...
as Gertrude - Robert PatrickRobert PatrickRobert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
as Fanny's lover - Michael RookerMichael RookerMichael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
as Sheriff Walker - Catherine KellnerCatherine KellnerCatherine Kellner is an American character actress.Kellner was born in Manhattan, New York to a psychologist/photographer mother and a squash player/Greek classics scholar father who was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant...
as Fanny Taylor - Akosua BusiaAkosua BusiaAkosua Busia is a Ghanaian actress who now lives in the U.S..The daughter of Kofi Abrefa Busia, the ex-prime minister of the Republic of Ghana, Akosua is the daughter of a prince of the royal family of Wenchi, a subgroup of the Ashanti. She herself is not a princess, since the Akans of Ghana...
as Jewel - Paul BenjaminPaul BenjaminPaul Benjamin is an American actor.Benjamin was born in Pelion, South Carolina. He made his film debut in 1969 as a bartender in Midnight Cowboy...
as James Carrier - Kevin Jackson as Sam Carter
- Mark Boone JuniorMark Boone JuniorMark Boone Junior is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as Bobby Munson in FX's Sons of Anarchy and in two films by Christopher Nolan, Memento and Batman Begins...
as Poly - Muse WatsonMuse WatsonMuse Watson is an American stage and screen actor. He most recently appeared as the recurring character Mike Franks in the television drama NCIS.-Biography:Watson was born on July 20, 1948 in Alexandria, Louisiana...
as Henry Andrews - Badja DjolaBadja DjolaBadja Medu Djola was an American actor. D’jola appeared in 47 films and TV shows during his career. His best role was as Leon Isaac Kennedy’s cellmate in the movie "Penitentiary." D’jola played the bad guy character "Half Dead." He showed exceptional acting talent in the movie, which lead to more...
as John Bradley - Kathryn Meisle as Mary Wright
- Jaimz WoolvettJaimz WoolvettJaimz Woolvett is a Canadian actor. He was born on April 14, 1967 in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. Woolvett's highest-profile role was The Schofield Kid, a near-sighted, aspiring gun-fighter in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning Western Unforgiven . He has a younger brother, Gordon Michael...
as Deputy Earl - Vanessa BadenVanessa BadenVanessa Baden is an American actress best known for her role as Kyra Rockmore in the hit Nickelodeon show Kenan and Kel, and for starring in the TV series Gullah Gullah Island. She also did a radio show “Keeping it Real with Reverend Al Sharpton”...
as Lee-Ruth