by Gilbert King
Mink Slide, Columbia, Tennessee, 12, 13
Mob violence by whites
in Columbia, TN, 7, 11–14
damage to black-owned property caused by, 92–93, 95–97, 108
in Groveland, FL, following reports of Padgett rape, 62–68, 72–73, 84–99, 108–9, 161
Moore, Evangeline (daughter of H. T. Moore), 105–6
Moore, Harriette Vyda Simms (wife of H. T. Moore), 105, 106, 273, 275, 277–78, 280–81, 283, 333
Moore, Harry Tyson (NAACP official), 103–8, 248–49, 264–66, 273–82, 283
G. Current’s criticism of NAACP work of, 246–47, 248
disillusionment of, 264–65
events following assassination of, 283–84
funeral, 279–81
house bombing and assassination of, 273–76
investigations of assassination of, 277, 280, 281, 282, 357
T. Marshall seeks support of, in Groveland Boys case, 246–47
NAACP benefit in honor of, 333
press coverage and responses to death of, 277–82
threats made to, 249
visits Miami to hear T. Marshall speak, 269–72
work on Groveland Boys case, 108–9, 127, 134–35, 142, 201–2, 249, 266, 276
work on W. Howard lynching case, 103–05
work on NAACP causes, 105–8, 201–2, 271–72
voter registration efforts by, 83
Moore, Peaches (daughter of H. T. Moore), 273, 275
Moore, Rosa (mother of H. T. Moore), 265, 273, 274, 275, 281
Moore, Simmie (sheriff, Madison County, FL), 116, 118
Morton, Mary, 13
Morton Funeral Home, Columbia, TN, vandalism of, 7, 13
Motley, Constance Baker (NAACP attorney), 44, 46, 89, 110, 120, 186, 189, 190
Mount Dora Topic (newspaper), 81, 84, 98, 135. See also Reese, Mabel Norris (news reporter)
Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Miami, T. Marshall speaks at, 258, 269–72
Murphy, Frank (Supreme Court Justice), 82
Murray, Donald Gaines, 185
NAACP. See National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Nabrit, James, Jr., 210
Nail in tire as evidence in shootings of S. Shepherd and W. Irvin, 251
Nation (periodical), 183, 241
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). See also Legal Defense Fund (LDF) of NAACP
call for investigation of W. McCall by, 80
capital punishment program, 5
cases on desegregation of universities, 185–91
challenge to “separate but equal” doctrine by, 43–44, 186–91 (see also Brown v. Board of Education; School desegregation)
Columbia Race Riot trial and, 7–11, 14–20
educational/school inequalities addressed by, 42–43, 106–7
fund-raising for Groveland Boys case, 269–71, 283,
lynching flags displayed by, 1, 3
Ku Klux Klan attacks on, 265–66
T. Marshall becomes attorney for, 22–23
membership decline and financial problems of, 201–2
New York offices, 1, 44–47, 186
threats to lawyers working for, 4, 9, 15–20, 168–69, 174–77, 182–84, 248, 283–84, 290–91, 333–34
National Association for the Advancement of White People, 341
National Guard, in Groveland, FL, to stop white mob violence, 87, 89–93, 97–99, 100, 109
National Research Corporation, 76
New Leader (newspaper), 132, 204
Newspaper Guild, CIO, 221
New York City, Harlem, 22–28
New York Compass, 295, 329
New York Daily News (newspaper), 50
New York Post (newspaper), 126, 150, 158, 173, 183, 221, 240, 257, 295, 332
New York Times (newspaper), 68, 198, 295, 332
on assassination of H. T. Moore, 277–78, 279–80
Nischwitz, Robert (FBI agent), 277
Ocala Star-Banner (newspaper), 135
Oklahoma State University, desegregation of, 187–90
Orlando Sentinel (newspaper), 68, 212, 232, 238, 277, 295
call for death penalty in Groveland Boys case, 98, 113
Ernest Thomas death and, 118–19
Owens, Buck (detective), 204
Padgett, Norma Lee Tyson (alleged rape victim), 3, 33–36, 85, 150
confronts Governor Collins about W. Irvin’s clemency, 355
defense strategy toward, in W. Irvin retrial, 306–7
divorce from W. Padgett, 358
given bullet from body of Ernest Thomas by W. McCall, 119–20
identifies alleged rapists, 66
identifies body of Ernest Thomas, 117
initial encounter with S. Shepherd and W. Irvin, 36–38
interviewed by reporter N. Bunin, 200
physician’s examination of, 142–43, 150–52, 162, 268
questions and doubts about rape claims and testimony of, 160–62, 172, 193–94, 204, 212–14, 224–26
relationship with husband Willie, 33–36
reputation, 35, 161
signature in anti–death penalty petition book, 229, 351, 354, 355
testimony in Groveland Boys (W. Irvin) retrial, 296–300
testimony in Groveland Boys trial, 165–66
C. Twiss and L. Burtoft encounters with, following alleged rape, 58–60
undercover private investigation of, 204, 210–14, 227–29
Padgett, Willie Haven (husband of Norma Padgett), 33–36, 60, 64, 85, 117, 124
divorce from Norma Padgett, 358
fight with S. Shepherd and W. Irvin, 38–39
identifies S. Shepherd and W. Irvin, 124–25
as suspected originator of rape accusation, 224–25
testifies in Groveland Boys (W. Irvin) retrial, 296
testifies in Groveland Boys trial, 164–65
unable to identify C. Greenlee, 66, 67
Parke, Richard H. (news reporter), 295
Patterson, William (communist activist, lawyer), 152–55, 291
Peace of Mind (Liebman), 196
Peonage, Florida citrus industry and black labor as, 76–81, 96–97, 132–33, 212
Pepper, Claude (senator), 103, 200, 212
Perkins, Paul (Florida attorney), 303
retrial of Groveland Boy W. Irvin, and work of, 222–23, 225, 226, 230, 286, 292, 294, 312, 314, 317, 330, 335, 336
shootings of S. Shepherd and W. Irvin and, 233, 241
Perry, Marian Wynn (attorney), 46, 48
Peyser, Annette (NAACP sociologist), 44
Phillips, Alexander (U.S. attorney general’s office), 184–85
Phillips, Herbert (U.S. attorney), files charges against J. Yates and L. Campbell for prisoner beatings, 194–95, 348
Phillips, Leon Chase (Oklahoma governor), 52, 54
Physician examination and report on Norma Padgett, 142–43, 150–52, 162, 268
Pillow, “Rooster Bill,” 13, 14
Pillsbury, W. H., 94
Pittsburgh Courier (newspaper), 9, 40–41, 152, 160, 220, 245, 257, 330
Plaster casts as evidence in Groveland Boys trials, 156, 166, 180, 312–14, 315, 319, 325, 356
Platt, Allan, and family
children denied access to public schools by W. McCall, 340–41
home firebombed, 345–46
Plessy v. Ferguson, 43, 44, 187, 189, 198, 203, 338
Pogue, Jim “Buck,” 19
Pollack, Louis H., 186
Porter, Edward, Jr. (sheriff, Marion County, FL), 269
Porter, Gilbert, 107
Poston, Ted (news reporter)
coverage of Groveland Boys trial by, 158–59, 160, 167, 171–74, 221, 267
posttrial high-speed chase and subsequent report on, 174–77, 181–84
Powers, Ormond (news reporter), 221, 295
on Sheriff W. McCall’s testimony in Ernest Thomas death, 18–19
suspicions about testimony
of Curtis Howard, 212–15
Press. See also names of individual reporters
coverage of Columbia Race Riot trial, 14–16, 19, 20
coverage of Groveland Boys rape case and trial, 98, 142, 152, 157–61, 163, 164, 167, 171–74, 180–81, 183, 212
coverage of Groveland mob violence by, 88–92
coverage of Groveland Boys (W. Irvin) retrial, 295–96, 300, 329, 332
coverage of H. T. Moore assassination, 277–80
coverage of shootings of S. Shepherd and W. Irvin, 232, 236–39, 241, 247, 255–56
posttrial coverage of Groveland Boys case by N. Bunin, 199–200, 204
Sheriff W. McCall credited for preventing lynching by, 68
threats to reporters, 92, 158, 174–77
Progressive Voters League, 83, 202, 266
Puryear, Elma Lee (mayor of Groveland, FL), 66–67, 87, 93, 94, 139–40, 141
Quigley, John I. (FBI agent), 138–42, 162
Racial violence in Florida, 265–66. See also Assaults on blacks by law enforcement officers; Lynchings of blacks
Raiford, Florida State prison at, 178
Groveland Boys removed from jail to, in order to prevent lynching, 62–68, 88, 130
W. Irvin returned to, following retrial, 332–33
W. McCall visits death-row prisoners at, 263–64
physician examination of Groveland Boys in, 135–36
F. Williams interviews Groveland Boys in, 127–32
Rangel, Charles, 40
Rape cases, 50–52, 70, 86, 153–54, 356. See also Groveland Boys rape case and trial
Rape complex, southern, 51–52
Ratcliffe, Robert (news reporter), 330
Raymond, Harry (news reporter), 14–16, 19, 20
Red Scare, 34, 82, 153
Reese, Mabel Norris (news reporter), 124, 135, 202, 38, 359. See also Chelsey, Mabel Norris
on blacks fleeing Groveland at white mob violence, 84–85
changing attitudes of, 321–22, 330, 339, 360
coverage of Groveland Boys (W. Irvin) retrial, 296, 299
coverage of Groveland Boys trial by, and strained relationship with F. Williams, 109, 156, 157–58, 163, 164, 171, 174, 180–81, 182, 183
coverage of Platt children being denied access to education, and resulting Pulitzer Prize nomination, 340–41, 345
on Deputy J. Yates, 180
divorce and remarriage, 358
on T. Poston, 183
praises T. Marshall and Brown v. Board of Education ruling, 339
present at questioning of W. Irvin following shooting, 241–45
protest against grand jury investigation of W. Irvin’s commutation, and violence directed at, 355
relationship with J. Hunter, 345, 350
on Sheriff W. McCall, 81, 98
shootings of S. Shepherd and W. Irvin and response of, 239, 245, 250
support for civil rights movement, 358
Reeves, Frank (NAACP attorney), 260
Rent parties, Harlem, 23–24
Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, 134
Rickey, Branch, 27
Ridgway, Matthew (U.S. general), 222
Robeson, Paul, 25, 28, 34, 152–53
Robinson, Jackie, 27, 282
Rogers, Elmer and Mrs., and son Elvie Dean, murder of, 52–53
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 30, 31, 70, 278
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (U.S. president), 30–31, 76, 338
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Williams College, 226
Roper Survey, 226, 288–90
Rosewood Massacre, Florida (1923), 94
Roxborough, Mildred (NAACP secretary), 44, 46
Rutledge, Wiley (Supreme Court Justice), 186, 188–89
Rynearson, Spencer, 236, 250
St. Clair, Stephanie “Queenie,” 26, 28
St. Petersburg Times, 241, 344, 355, 359
reporter N. Bunin’s investigation of Groveland Boys case, and exposé in, 199–200, 204, 222, 267
Samuels, Gloria (NAACP secretary), 46
Saturday Evening Post (periodical), 266, 295
School desegregation, NAACP legal work on behalf of, 43–44, 143, 185–91, 203, 205, 333, 335–40
School inequalities, 42–43, 107. See also Education
Scott, Julia, 28
Scottsboro Boys case, Alabama, 86, 152, 347
Scottsboro Defense Committee, 347
Scully, Vincent, 22
“Separate but equal” standard, 43, 44, 43–44, 198, 338
Shelley v. Kraemer, 137
Shepherd, Charlie Mae (wife of Henry Shepherd), 95, 96, 149
Shepherd, Henry (father of Samuel Shepherd), white mob destruction of property owned by, 84, 95–97, 132, 149, 226
Shepherd, James (brother of Samuel Shepherd), 37, 96, 148–49, 292
Shepherd, Samuel (Groveland Boy), 36–39, 72, 233. See also Groveland Boys; Groveland Boys rape case and trial
arrest of, 124–25
beatings of, by law enforcement officers, 67, 124–25, 127–30, 135, 138–42, 147, 184–85, 259–62
confession, 129, 134, 178
conviction overturned by U.S. Supreme Court, 219–20
fight with Willie Padgett, 38–39
gives warning to lawyer F. Williams, 168–69
home destroyed by white mob, 92
indictments against, 109
interviewed by F. Williams, 127–30
ninety-day stay of execution for, 194
relationship of, with W. Irvin, 310–11
removed from Tavares jail to prevent lynching of, 62–68, 130
as returning military veteran, 132–33
shooting and death of, 230–39, 242–43, 249–53, 263–64
trial testimony, 168–69
trial verdict, 173–74
Shepherd v. Florida, 215–18, 219–20, 222
Shull, Linwood (police officer), beating of Isaac Woodard and trial of, 121
Simms, George (brother-in-law of H. T. Moore), 275, 276, 281
Singleton, Henry
bolita operation run by, and relationship with Sheriff W. McCall, 114–15, 167
as witness in Groveland Boys trial, 149, 167, 172
Sipuel v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Okla., 187–89
Small’s Paradise (Harlem club), 23
Smith, Marvin, 228
Smith v. Allwright, 28–29, 82–83
Spaulding, Nelson (physician), examination of Groveland Boys’ injuries, 135–36
Spell, Joseph, rape case and trial, 50–52, 306
Spingarn, Stephen, 155
Spingarn Medal, 26, 28, 29, 197, 333
Stacy, Rubin (lynching victim), 3
Starke, George (physician), 276, 277, 280
Starr, Ruth N., 361
Starr, Dave (sheriff, Orange County, FL), 221, 284, 286
State of Florida v. Samuel Shepherd, Walter Irvin, Ernest E. Thomas, 163. See also Groveland Boys rape case and trial
Stephenson, Gladys, 11, 12, 30
Stephenson, James, 11, 12
Stevens, John Paul (Supreme Court justice), 188
Stinney, George, Jr., murder case of, 334
Stovall, Alice (NAACP secretary), 5, 27
Strubing, Eleanor, rape case, 50–52, 306
Stuckey Still, white mob violence in, 87, 89–93, 95–97, 108–9
Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem, 25–28
Sullins, C. E., 91
Supreme Court, U.S.
Groveland Boys appeals to, 202, 205, 210, 215–20, 336, 338, 342, 344
T. Marshall cases argued before, 2, 4, 5, 28–29, 53–54, 69–70, 82–83, 120, 186–91, 198, 335, 336–39
Suyat, Cecilia (NAACP secretary), 339
Sweatt, Heman Marion, desegregation case involving, 186–91, 198
Sweatt v. Painter, 186–88, 189, 190, 198
Swinney, Wayne (FBI agent), 236, 283–84
Talmadge, Herman, 293–94
Tampa Tribune (newspaper), 79
Tennessee State Guard, 13
Texas Primary Case, 28–29
They Shall Be Free (Chalmers), 347
Thomas, Ernest (Groveland Boy), 89
as bolita lottery game peddler, 114–15
death ruled justifiable homicide, 119–20
flees Groveland at reports of mob violence, 73, 85
friendship with C. Greenlee, 64–65, 114
manhunt and killing of, 113–14, 115–19, 126, 131
Thomas, Ethel (mother of Ernest Thomas), 73, 114, 149
testimony in Groveland Boys trial, 167
Thomas, Luther (father of Ernest Thomas), 149
Thomas, Milton C. (editor), 118, 221
suspicions about Groveland Boys trial testimony, 212–15
Thomas, Ruby Lee (wife of Ernest Thomas), 115
Thurmond, Strom, 83
Till, Emmett (lynching victim), 100–101
Time (periodical), 340, 344, 349 354
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee), 3
Tomlinson, Betty Lou (cousin of Norma Padgett), 229
Trains, Thurgood Marshall on segregated, 1–2, 3, 21–22
Truman, Harry (U.S. president), 34, 121, 134, 196, 280, 341
desegregation of U.S. military by, 207, 208, 222
Tuck, Jay Nelson (news reporter), 257, 295
Tureaud, A. P. (attorney), 47–48
Twiss, Clifton and Ethel, encounter with N. Padgett following alleged rape, 58–59, 213, 215
Tyson, Coy (father of Norma Padgett), 34, 35, 64, 69, 73, 93, 99, 200
United States Supreme Court (see Supreme Court, U.S.)
University of Florida Oral History Project, 358
University of Maryland School of Nursing, desegregation of, 185–86
University of Texas Law School, desegregation of, 186–91, 197
Valree, George, bolita operations and connection to Ernest Thomas, 114–15
Valree, Mary Hunter “Little,” 92–93
Veterans (see Military veterans, black)
Vinson, Fred (Supreme Court justice), 342
Violence (see Assaults on blacks by law enforcement officers; Lynchings of blacks; Mob violence by whites)
Vishinsky, Andrei (Soviet minister), 240
Voter registration campaigns, 83
Voting rights, 28–29, 82–83
Waddy, Joseph, 195
Wall, Robert (FBI agent), 254
Waller, Fats, 23
Wann, M. L., 86
Waring, Julius Waties (judge), 203
Warren, Fuller (Florida governor), 87, 99, 108–9, 126, 233, 246, 276, 355
appoints investigator J. J. Elliott to Groveland Boys shootings, 241–42