Rosewood: False Accusation Triggers Massacre

Fannie Taylor's accusation that a Black man attacked her was the trigger for the Rosewood massacre. Later investigations and testimony from her neighbor, Lexie Gordon, indicated Taylor's injuries were likely from her white lover. Jesse Hunter, a fugitive convict, was alleged as the attacker. Despite no evidence connecting Rosewood resident Sylvester Carrier or any other specific man, the entire community was targeted. The pattern of false rape accusations by white women triggering anti-Black mob violence was recurrent across this era.