On November 2, 1920, the day of the U.S. presidential election, a white mob in Ocoee, Florida attacked the town's African American residents in what has been described as one of the deadliest incidents of election-related violence in American history. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, from roughly 12 to as many as 56 or more, with contemporaneous investigators for the NAACP recording around 30 dead. Most African American-owned homes, two churches, and a Black fraternal lodge in northern Ocoee were burned to the ground.
The violence followed years of voter registration drives among Black Floridians, led locally by prosperous landowners Mose Norman and Julius "July" Perry, who had paid poll taxes for others and worked with Republican judge John M. Cheney. On election day, Norman was turned away from the polls; accounts differ on whether this was due to his race or a disputed poll-tax claim. After Norman was beaten and had his shotgun taken by whites at the polling place, a false rumor spread — attributed to a Black man named Burley Jones — that armed Black residents were gathering at July Perry's home. Whites were deputized by an Orange County sheriff's deputy to arrest Perry and Norman.
A mob led by former Orlando police chief Sam T. Salisbury surrounded Perry's home. Gunfire from within the home, described by Perry as self-defense, wounded Salisbury and killed two white men, Elmer McDaniels and Leo Borgard, who were attempting to enter through the back door. Perry, along with his wife Estelle Perry and 19-year-old daughter Caretha, were also wounded in the exchange. The mob then withdrew to gather reinforcements from Orlando, Apopka, and elsewhere in Orange County, returning with an estimated 200 additional men.
Over the following hours, the enlarged mob set fire to African American homes, churches, a schoolhouse, and a lodge in northern Ocoee, and residents were shot as they fled the flames. Reported victims of the broader violence include a Black carpenter named Langmaid, who was beaten and castrated; Maggie Genlack and her pregnant daughter, who died hiding beneath a burning home; Roosevelt Barton, shot while fleeing a burning barn; and members of a pregnant woman's family who died while hiding, according to witness Hattie Smith. July Perry, captured while fleeing with his wife's help, was taken into custody, then removed from a vehicle by a mob while being transferred and lynched, his body left hanging near a highway. Norman was never located.
In the aftermath, roughly 500 African American residents were driven from Ocoee, including those in the southern part of town who were reportedly threatened with violence if they did not leave. The town became almost entirely white, and no Black residents are recorded as having resettled there until 1981. No one was prosecuted for the killings; federal agents who later visited were reportedly focused on election fraud rather than the deaths. The mob's leader later became mayor of Ocoee. The events received renewed public attention and commemoration efforts beginning in the late 20th century and continuing through the massacre's 2020 centennial.
Key facts
- Victims
- Elmer McDaniels, Caretha Perry, Leo Borgard, Roosevelt Barton, Estelle Perry, Mose Norman, Maggie Genlack, Julius "July" Perry
- Date
- 1920
- Location
- Ocoee, Florida
- Case status
- unsolved
Case timeline
1888
African American residents of Ocoee began purchasing farmland, building wealth in the Jim Crow-era South.
1920-10
The Ku Klux Klan reportedly threatened, weeks before election day, that no Black person would be permitted to vote in the area.
1920-11-02
On U.S. Election Day, Mose Norman was turned away from the polls in Ocoee; tensions escalated into a white mob forming and later attacking July Perry's home.
1920-11-02
Gunfire at Perry's home killed white residents Elmer McDaniels and Leo Borgard and wounded Sam Salisbury, Julius Perry, and Perry's daughter Caretha.
1920-11-03
Reinforced white mob burned African American homes, churches, a schoolhouse, and a lodge across northern Ocoee overnight, with fighting reported until as late as 4:45 a.m.
1920-11-03
Julius 'July' Perry, captured after fleeing, was taken from custody by a mob and lynched, his body left hanging near a highway.
1949
A University of Florida student's history term paper recorded local residents' recollections estimating 30 to 35 people were killed.
1969
Lester Dabbs, a future mayor of Ocoee, wrote a master's thesis on the massacre.
2010-01
The town of Ocoee sponsored a Martin Luther King Day commemoration of the massacre.
2018
The city of Ocoee issued a proclamation acknowledging the massacre.
2019-06-21
A historical marker honoring July Perry was placed in Heritage Square outside the Orange County Regional History Center.
2020-06-23
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1213, directing that the 1920 Ocoee massacre be included in required African American history instruction in schools.
2020-10-03
The Orange County Regional History Center opened the exhibition 'Yesterday, This Was Home: The Ocoee Massacre of 1920' for the centenary.
2020-11-02
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proclaimed 'Ocoee Massacre Remembrance Day' on the massacre's 100th anniversary.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Elmer McDaniels
VICTIMWhite man killed by gunfire, described in sheriff and funeral home records as killed by armed white men during the mob's attack on Perry's home.
Caretha Perry
VICTIM19-year-old daughter of July Perry, wounded during the shooting at their home; survived.
Leo Borgard
VICTIMWhite man killed by gunfire, described in sheriff and funeral home records as killed by armed white men during the mob's attack on Perry's home.
Roosevelt Barton
VICTIMAfrican American man shot after fleeing a barn set on fire by the mob.
Estelle Perry
VICTIMWife of July Perry, wounded during the shooting at their home; survived.
Mose Norman
VICTIMProsperous African American farmer and voter-registration organizer turned away from the polls and beaten; fled Ocoee and was never found.
Maggie Genlack
VICTIMAfrican American resident who died with her pregnant daughter while hiding in her home during the burning of northern Ocoee.
Julius "July" Perry
VICTIMProsperous African American landowner who was wounded defending his home, later captured, and lynched by a mob; no one was prosecuted for his death.
Sam T. Salisbury
LAW ENFORCEMENTFormer Orlando police chief and KKK member who led the white mob that attacked July Perry's home and was wounded there; not reported charged.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On November 2, 1920 — U.S. Election Day — a white mob in Ocoee, Florida attacked the town's African American community after false rumors spread that two Black men had killed two white men. Dozens of Black residents were killed, homes and churches were burned, and hundreds were driven from the town, which remained almost entirely white for decades.
- Where did the massacre happen?
- Ocoee, Florida.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: unsolved.
Related cases
View all cases
Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICOcoee massacreWikipedia · 2026-07-10
- PRESSFlorida community reconciles with history of 1920s race riotThe Guardian · 2026-07-10