They would soon be handling the volatile case of seven black men charged with raping a white woman, and Whittle admonished them that the accused "will be tried as though both parties were members of the same race. 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. Martin and the NAACP also agreed to represent the men in an appeal for the Seven with the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. 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. 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. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. His signed confession, like those of the others, was read into the record and can be found in the old files. The seven were charged with the rape of Ruby Stroud Floyd in a black neighborhood of Martinsville, Virginia on January 8, 1949. Joe Henry Hampton, 21, was the first man tried. Virginia Gov. Please enter valid email address to continue. John Marshall boys basketball reclaims No. "I was maybe 10 years old, and it was very, very, very hush-hush," he said. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. 0 cemeteries found in Duplin County, North Carolina, USA. Reached by telephone, she said her family will not talk about her grandfather or what happened. When she and the boy returned, Hampton said he grabbed her and the others joined in the assault, according to his confession. 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. All they are celebrating is the dismantling of White laws, laws which have held . Eric W. Rise, Race, Rape, and Radicalism: The Case of the Martinsville Seven, 1949-1951. The Journal of Southern History LVIII, no. By the next morning, all the men in custody had signed confessions. Though they varied somewhat in detail, the accounts of what happened that night from the perpetrators, the victim, Martin and other witnesses in large part agreed. In his study on the case, Rise concluded that, "At a time when African-Americans were beginning to assert their civil rights vigorously, the executions provided a stark reminder of the harsh treatment reserved for blacks who violated Southern racial codes.". On 8 January 1949, 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd was out collecting money for some clothes she had recently sold. They said that the men had been forced into confessing that they had raped Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman who had been visiting a predominantly Black section of Martinsville,. A better quality image can be found in the Fight for Racial Justice: the Civil Rights Congress (Gale) that can be accessed online through the D.C. Public Library databases, among other methods. By early 1951, legal strategies to save the Martinsville Seven were exhausted and the NAACP, joined by the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), turned towards a public relations campaign aimed at commuting the mens death sentences. Whittle.[7]. The Martinsville 7 were African-American young men accused of the rape of a white woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd, on January 8, 1949 in Martinsville, Virginia. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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 . [1] On August 31, 2021, the Governor of Virginia pardoned the convictions of all seven men, 70 years after their deaths. Prospective jurors in each trial included some blacks, but all 72 jurors selected to try the cases were white. While we can't change the past, I hope today's action brings them some small measure of peace. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? The Spotsylvania County Sheriffs Office has decided to end its participation on a national television show, at least for now. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. The young men were arrested, interrogated & charged with rape & attempted rape. He sobbed loudly when Northam told the family members he would grant the pardons after meeting with them Tuesday. Much of that attention was focused on Richmond, home of the governor, the legislature and the state's top civil-rights lawyers, as well as the location of what was then the Virginia State Penitentiary and its electric chair. 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. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Although it was dark, Floyd testified in all six trials identifying each of the seven. State And Regional Martinsville Film To Be Produced By Charlottesville Activist And Uvas Center For Politics. After a long legal battle led by the NAACP and a grassroots campaign led by the Civil Rights Congress, the seven were executed in 1951 on February 2nd and February 5th. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Failed to delete memorial. Learn more about merges. 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. "It means so much to me," he said of the pardon. All Rights Reserved. New York Public Library. The seven men, most in their late teens or early 20s, were: Grayson, Millner, Frank Hairston Jr.; Howard Lee Hairston; James Luther Hairston; Joe Henry Hampton; and John Clabon Taylor. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. "But we don't really know what happened.". The appellate courts upheld the convictions and sentences, and the US Supreme Court twice refused to hear the cases. Cries and sobs could be heard from some of the descendants after Northam's announcement. Make sure that the file is a photo. %privacy_policy%. The original trial records, including hundreds of pages of transcripts, are on file at the Martinsville Circuit Court clerk's office. / CBS/AP. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. It may not display this or other websites correctly. "I remember the very day the police came to the door. Martin and his uncle later testified that the uncle warned Floyd not to make the trip in the dark. And the real victim Ruby Stroud Floyd didnt even get a mention from those coon descendants of her rapists ! Search above to list available cemeteries. [6], No trial lasted more than a day, and the longest jury deliberation lasted less than two hours. Suggest Edits Toggle Dropdown. Eric W, Rise, an associate professor at the University of Delaware who wrote a 1995 book on the case,The Martinsville Seven: Race, Rape, and Capital Punishment,said Floyd told police she was raped by a large group of Black men and testified at all six trials. The judge ruled that there was no evidence that discrimination was involved in imposing the Martinsville death sentences. Ralph Northam, left, looks over the. 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. The CRC in turn criticized the NAACP for its reliance on a legal strategy that had a dubious chance of success in a southern state where rigid Jim Crow was enforced. She passed four men at the railroad tracks and continued into the neighborhood, where she was later assaulted by some of those four and other men. 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. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. All of them were tried by all-White juries. 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. 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. She said that she had been raped at least 13 times. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The seven executed were Francis Grayson, James L. Hairston, John Claybon Taylor, Frank Hairston, Jr., Booker T. Millner, Howard Lee Hairston and Joe Henry Hampton. The hope generated by the Scottsboro campaign in the 1930s was followed by bitter setbacks in the post-World War II period. 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. This is a carousel with slides. And the real victim Ruby Stroud Floyd didn't even get a mention from those coon descendants of her rapists ! NAACP lawyers argued on appeal that Virginias legal code was hardly race neutral, since whites convicted of rape seldom, if ever received the death penalty. 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 neighbourhood in. For more information and other images, see www.flickr.com/photos/washington_area_spark/sets/72157643 Photo by Washington Daily News. They should not have been executed," he added. The remaining three were electrocuted on February 5. http://revcom.us/a/098/martinsville7-en.html, http://www.blackpast.org/aah/martinsville-seven-1949-1951. A grand jury (which included both black and white members) indicted all the men. You can cancel at any time. . Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? On January 8, 1949, a white woman named Ruby Stroud Floyd was raped in a black part of Martinsville, Virginia. This account has been disabled. At the time of their arrest, all but one was between the ages of 20 and 23. 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 . 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. While the NAACP focused on racial equality as part of Cold War American democratic visions, CRC mobilized left-based organizations and newspapers from around the world to pressure state and national officials to intervene. 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.". From 1908 when Virginia began using the electric chair to 1951, state records show that all 45 people executed for rape were Black, he said. NAACP officials focused national attention to the case, hoping to delay or overturn the death penalty judgment. GREAT NEWS! Julie Ditty Obituary Death: Julie DittyCause Of Death, Lara Loughlin Obituary Death: Lara LoughlinCause Of Death. All of the appeals by the NAACP failed. There was a problem getting your location. During the eleven-day trials, juries heard testimonies from both sides, including medical evidence of Floyds physical injuries and accounts from black witnesses whom Floyd appealed to for help after the assault. "It means so much to me," he said of the pardon. Sorry! 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