Devil in the Grove

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), 79r />
  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