The group of young men soon got the name The Martinsville Seven. Four of the men were executed in Virginia's electric chair on February 2, 1951. But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. [8] Since Virginia started using an electric chair in 1908, all 45 of the men sentenced to death for rape had been black men convicted of raping white women. He said none of the men had attorneys present while they were interrogated. [8] The day before the youngest of the seven was executed, he said, "God knows I didn't touch that woman and I'll see y'all on the other side. Four more suspects were arrested that night, based in part on the first two men's confessions. I'm grateful to the advocates and families of the Martinsville Seven for their dedication and perseverance. Martinsville remained quiet. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. The propaganda emanating from these sources bears no semblance of truth and is designed for no other purpose than to foment ill feeling between the races and to mislead those who have no knowledge of the true fact of these cases.. COPYRIGHT (C) 2017 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - BLACK THEN Grayson said she once told her father that she wanted to meet her grandfather. cemeteries found in Duplin County, North Carolina, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Do you find this information helpful? To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. She said that she had been raped at least 13 times. The trial transcripts show that on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd, the 32-year-old wife of a department-store manager, entered a black area of the city to collect. By Tamantha / 08.31.2021 Photo: AFP via Getty Images Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. "Thank you, Jesus. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Ruby Floyd (78661616)? The hope generated by the Scottsboro campaign in the 1930s was followed by bitter setbacks in the post-World War II period. Try again. Please if you have any form of concern, suggestions, or query as regards this publication, kindly contact us. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. Please subscribe to keep reading. It was a dramatic shift for Virginia, a state that had the second-highest number of executions in the U.S. The young men with spotty employment records but no real criminal history soon became known as the Martinsville Seven. Each man was charged with rape and aiding and abetting rape both crimes punishable by death at the time. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time. "It's such a raw wound," said Naomi Hodge-Muse, president of the Martinsville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Floyd did not know where the woman lived, so she enlisted the help of 11-year-old Charlie Martin, son of a "colored" woman she knew, to guide her. You have permission to edit this article. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. Rape is no longer a death-eligible crime in the U.S., but 60 years later, the executions of the Martinsville Seven still provoke strong feelings in Martinsville's African-American community and among death-penalty critics. Cries and sobs could be heard from some of the descendants after Northam's announcement. [7] From 1908 to 1951, only Texas, North Carolina and Georgia executed more black men for rape than did Virginia. In denying appeals to commute the Martinsville 7 death sentences, Virginias Governor John S. Battle said, that the wave of messages that flooded his desks was cosponsored by the Civil Rights Congress and the Communist Party. Failed to delete memorial. "But we don't really know what happened.". But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. The Civil Rights Congress pickets the White House January 30, 1951 demanding President Harry Truman stop the execution of the Martinsville 7 seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia. Within hours . They should not have been executed," he added. I will not have it otherwise.". Four of the seven testified at their own trials. Baseball legend Jackie Robinson's name misspelled as "Jakie" on road sign, Serena Williams honored at NAACP Image Awards, City, family reach $2 million settlement in Florida fatal police shooting, How these 3 hashtags from Black Twitter changed America, announced new steps to streamline the pardon process. Four of the Martinsville Seven were electrocuted on February 2, 1951. "I think I touched a nerve. The prosecution vetoed all potential black jurors so that all-white and all-male juries heard the cases. GREAT NEWS! All of the appeals by the NAACP failed. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville . Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. NAACP officials focused national attention to the case, hoping to delay or overturn the death penalty judgment. All admitted to being present at the crime, including Joe Hampton, although not all took part in rape. For more information and other images, see www.flickr.com/photos/washington_area_spark/sets/72157643 Photo by Washington Daily News. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. She had previously distributed Jehovah's Witnesses materials in the neighborhood. When she and the boy returned, Hampton said he grabbed her and the others joined in the assault, according to his confession. The Seven were executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary in early February 1951. What makes the Justices so elite? Learn more about managing a memorial . Virginias court system repeatedly rejected the NAACPs arguments and the US Supreme Court rejected the case twice without review. Every single one of the 45 men executed by Virginias electric chair for the crime of rape at that point in time were African American men charged with assaulting white women. He said none of the men had attorneys present while they were interrogated. To protect them from mob violence, they took them to other jails outside Henry County. Joe Hampton, 19, and three others took turns raping Ruby Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman. You can directly shop your flowers on Amazon. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Please login and add some widgets to this sidebar. Together representatives, both black and white, of the CRC and NAACP, as well as other citizens, met with Battle in June 1950 to appeal for a pardon or clemency for the defendants in the case. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Before their executions, protesters picketed at the White House, and the governor's office received letters from around the world asking for mercy. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Year should not be greater than current year. And the real victim Ruby Stroud Floyd didn't even get a mention from those coon descendants of her rapists ! To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. In Martinsville, the executions are no longer a common topic of conversation, but they remain on the minds of many African-Americans. He is now in his 70s and lives just outside the city of Martinsville. At age 37, World War II veteran Francis DeSales Grayson was the oldest of the defendants. Four of the men were executed in Virginia's electric chair on Feb. 2, 1951. "I don't want to bring that up again.". "I remember the very day the police came to the door. At the time of their arrest, all but one was between the ages of 20 and 23. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. "My daddy was Hampton's uncle," she said. Three days later, the remaining three were also electrocuted. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. The longest deliberations lasted less than two hours, Rise said. The first man to die in Virginia's electric chair was Henry Smith, a black man who raped an elderly white woman. The judge ruled that there was no evidence that discrimination was involved in imposing the Martinsville death sentences. Most of the men were between 18 and 20 years old and worked as laborers in small-scale furniture factories and warehouses. But, none was selected for any of the seven juries, as the prosecutors rejected all of them on various grounds. [2], Rise says that the white community disdained Ruby Floyd for her missionary work with the Jehovah's Witnesses and for her willingness to enter the black part of Martinsville. Two weeks after Whittle's warning, the Martinsville defendants were convicted and sentenced to join them. The pardons do not address the guilt or innocence of the men, but Northam said the pardons are an acknowledgement that they did not receive due process and received a "racially-biased death sentence not similarly applied to white defendants.". [8][16], On August 31, 2021, Governor Ralph Northam posthumously pardoned all seven men. "Thank you, Jesus. Although it was dark, Floyd testified in all six trials identifying each of the seven. Some of the defendants acknowledged having sexual intercourse with Floyd, but said that it was consensual, or that she did not resist or say no, either considered necessary as a condition to prove rape. Oh boo, fricking hoo look what they do to criminals in their Afreakan homeland. It was not until a 1977 Georgia case that the U.S. Supreme Court ended death sentences for rape, but because the death penalty was a "grossly disproportionate" punishment for rape, and not on the basis of race. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. The Martinsville Seven were a group of young black men executed in 1951 after being convicted of raping a white woman. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, 41, and Brandy Washington tied the knot last week, a year after the couple got engaged. The seven were charged with the rape of Ruby Stroud Floyd in a black neighborhood of Martinsville, Virginia on January 8, 1949. *. They were not assigned a lawyer. Hundreds stayed in Richmond for a prayer vigil until the executions took place. "These men were executed because they were Black, and that's not right," Northam said. Unanimous juries recommended death sentences at the end of each trial. The" Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman on Jan. 8, 1949. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. "Their punishment did not fit the crime. Rudolph McCollum Jr., a former Richmond mayor who is the great-nephew of Francis DeSales Grayson and the nephew of another one of the executed men, Booker T. Millner, told Northam the executions represent "a wound that continues to mar Virginia's history and the efforts to move beyond its dubious past." Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. The rapes occurred on Saturday, January 8, 1949, after Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman, entered a black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, to collect money for clothing she had sold. 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Ruby Stroud Floyd Obituary: In the loving memory of Ruby Stroud Floyd, we are saddened to inform you that Ruby Stroud Floyd, a beloved and loyal friend, has passed away. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. Thank you, Lord," he said, as he wept while being embraced by two other descendants of the men. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. / CBS/AP. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. "[6], In December 2020, the Martinsville 7 Project asked Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to pardon the Martinsville Seven posthumously and issue an apology. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. Only one of the accused had a prior criminal record, and most of the men were employed. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons Tuesday to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman, in a case that attracted pleas for mercy from around the world and in recent years has been denounced as an example of racial disparity in the use of the death penalty. [2], The trials were held back to back, each with a separate jury of twelve white men. There was an error deleting this problem. James Walter Grayson is the son of Francis DeSales Grayson, who was one of the seven. The campaign included picket lines, post cards and telegrams, a demonstration by hundreds rallying in Richmond to try to persuade Gov. "No one believed they should get off free " she said. But the remaining three men were executed on Monday, Feb. 5. 0 cemeteries found in Duplin County, North Carolina, USA. Rarely. A group of young Black men executed after being convicted by all-White juries of allegedly raping a White woman have been pardoned in Virginia 70 years after their deaths. Fired RPS employee sues school district, alleges misuse of federal funds. We encourage you all to respect the dead and accord the family heartbroken with the loss of a cherished one, some privacy as you leave a message in the comment session. Suggest Edits . Before their executions, protesters picketed at the White House, and the governor's office received letters from around the world asking for mercy. Some questioned the accuracy of parts of the confessions, and at least one said he did not have intercourse with Floyd and that he did not see Floyd resist anyone. By the next morning, all the men in custody had signed confessions. The seven men, ranging in age from 18-37 years old, were arrested in 1949 for the reported rape of 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who lived in Martinsville. The judge presiding was Kennon C. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. She attended Palmer Grove Baptist Church where she was honored. The pardons do not address the guilt or innocence of the men, but Northam said the pardons are an acknowledgement that they did not receive due process and received a "racially-biased death sentence not similarly applied to white defendants.". 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The original trial records, including hundreds of pages of transcripts, are on file at the Martinsville Circuit Court clerk's office. 7 Black men executed in 1951 for rape granted posthumous pardons The Martinsville Seven were convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who visited a predominantly Black community in 1949 to collect money for outfits she sold. Appeals to the Virginia and U.S. supreme courts followed but also failed. Eric W. Rise, Race, Rape, and Radicalism: The Case of the Martinsville Seven, 1949-1951. The Journal of Southern History LVIII, no. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. The "Martinsville Seven" were convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, who had gone to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for . Did You Know That Disney Released A Cartoon Featuring A Freed Slave As The Hero? He further stated, "We all deserve a criminal justice system that is fair, equal, and gets it rightno matter who you are or what you look like. This legal argument of a discriminatory death penalty was denied by the courts at that time, but by 1977 the U.S. Supreme Court began to consider the effects of race on the death penalty. At the time, all 45 men executed for rape in Virginia since the state began using the electric chair in 1908 were blacks convicted of attacking white women. You can cancel at any time. All seven men signed statements admitting they were present during the attack, but they had no access to their parents or attorneys at the time, Rise said. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. [12] The NAACP's interest was in establishing legal precedent "for the benefit of due process and equal protection in general and the Negroes' rights in particular. 10 free downloads. Learn more about merges. It's even worse than that. In March, Northam, a Democrat, signed legislation passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature abolishing the state's death penalty. For the first time, records were kept at a central location. The photographer is unknown. From left to right: John Clabon Taylor, Joe Henry Hampton, Francis DeSales Grayson, Booker T. Millner, James Luther Hairston, Howard Lee Hairston, and Frank Hairston. The seven were charged with the rape of Ruby Stroud Floyd in a black neighborhood of Martinsville, Virginia on January 8, 1949. Virginia law authorized capital punishment for accessories, parties to the act of rape who did not take part in the act. There was a problem getting your location. We have set your language to ", The lawyers used the figures in their clemency petition to Gov. Do I see a pattern here? Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The Civil Rights Congress pickets the White House February 1, 1951 demanding President Harry Truman stop the execution of the Martinsville 7 seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Another, from China, called the sentence a "barbaric" example of American "fascist hooliganism". ", Hodge-Muse says, "This community does not have a hateful attitude that would lend itself to violence that's not our culture, and I think it speaks well of the black and white community that we have never had that type of meanness.". Newly elected Virginia Governor John S. Battle refused their request for clemency. But Hodge-Muse, Millner and others also believe that not all the facts came out during the trials and that there are many unanswered questions. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humour, diligent and caring. Other prosecution witnesses included Grayson's wife, Josephine, who also testified for the defense in some of the cases; a sister of one of the defendants; and a black woman who assisted Floyd after the attack. Hampton said he, Howard Hairston, Booker T. Millner and Frank Hairston Jr., were drinking wine near some railroad tracks that Saturday night. Martin A. Martin of the Richmond law firm Hill, Martin and Robinson, was the lead attorney for the appellate defense team for the NAACP in Virginia, as his firm had considerable experience with civil rights cases. Black men executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman granted posthumous pardons | CBC News Loaded. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. In 1908, Virginia became the fifth state in the U.S. to use the electric chair, and executions were carried out by the Virginia Department of Corrections at the State Penitentiary in Richmond. Other demonstrations were held in Washington, D.C., New York and elsewhere in an attempt to convince President Harry S. Truman to interveneagain to no avail. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Still, preparations for the executions proceeded. "Booker T. gave the little colored boy a quarter and told him to go (away)," Hampton told police. Oops, we were unable to send the email. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. Every single one of the 45 men executed by Virginias electric chair for rape at that point were African American men charged with assaulting white women. John Marshall boys basketball reclaims No. "The older people all know about it, and it's so hurtful that they don't really want to talk about it. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a White woman who had gone to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on January 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. The Martinsville 7 were charged with the rape of a white woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd, in a black neighborhood of Martinsville, Virginia on January 8, 1949. All they are celebrating is the dismantling of White laws, laws which have held the civilised West together like glue, that once gone will herald the arrival of a new singular law, the law of the jungle the only law niggers know, and which can be perfectly summed up by Crowleys satanic epithet do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. On the evening of January 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd accused 13 black men of raping her while she passed through a poor African American neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia. The mass executions were the largest in Virginia in modern times. It was the largest mass execution for rape that had been reported in the United States. Blacks makeup 13% of the population but commit the majority of violent crimes in this country. All Rights Reserved. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Grayson said he was 4 years old when his father was executed. How To Unsubscribe From Emails and Push Notifications. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. That they could be standing there for photos with those smug looks on their faces like they have something to be proud of is just beyond my comprehension ! What the Martinsville case lacked in legal import, it made up for politically by drawing national and worldwide attention to the death penalty as a civil-rights issue. In 1977 the Supreme Court referred to those arguments with respect to rulings in other cases. The last was Grayson, 38, who was pronounced dead at 8:15 that morning. Racism was less explicit in the trial than in cases known as "legal lynchings" in the South, in which innocent men were convicted (e.g., the Scottsboro Boys, Willie McGee), and the Groveland Boys. "[2] Their concern was ensuring a fair trial.[2]. In addition, each of the jury pools for the six separate trials contained some African Americans. The seven executed were all workers. He said, 'Well, read the book the Martinsville Seven. But, she said, "It's been so long, ain't no need of digging in it now.". She also had abrasions on her elbows, forearms, knees, lower legs and thighs. The juries were all white and all male. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville . "It means so much to me," he said of the pardon. His signed confession, like those of the others, was read into the record and can be found in the old files. The Court of Appeals upheld the rulings on March 13, 1950, with Chief Justice Edward W. Hudgins writing: "one can hardly conceive of a more atrocious, a more beastly crime". He sobbed loudly when Northam told the family members he would grant the pardons after meeting with them Tuesday. On the evening of January 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd accused 13 black men of raping her while she passed through a poor African American neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia . The Martinsville 7 Project, according to their website, seeks to highlight the case, share their stories, collect and post records related to the case, and promote the pardon request. After the convictions, the seven were represented by Richmond-area civil-rights lawyers Martin A. Martin, Samuel W. Tucker, Roland D. Ealey and Oliver W. Hill, and others. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humour, diligent and caring. He kissed us and they took him away," he told The Associated Press in an interview after the announcement. "This is about righting wrongs," Northam said. "A white lady and a little colored boy came by and the lady asked where Ruth Pettie lived we all planned to get her when she came back.". THIS is the harrowing moment vengeful villagers burned to death the alleged ringleader of a violent gang they say had been terrorising them for months. Law authorized capital punishment for accessories, parties to the act [ 7 from... 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All photos uploaded successfully, click the Leave a flower button Grove Baptist Church where she honored! Boo, fricking hoo look what they do to criminals in their clemency petition to Gov all-white... At what happened to ruby stroud floyd central location presiding was Kennon C. for a prayer vigil the! Sobbed loudly when Northam told the family members he would grant the pardons after meeting with Tuesday! It 's been so long, ai n't no need of digging in it now. `` on Gem! Virginia on January 8, 1949 your account has been locked for 30 minutes to...