TAMPA, Fla. — A new Black History Month exhibit at Tampa International Airport is using art to spread awareness of the 1923 massacre that destroyed the African American community of Rosewood, Florida.
"I see art at the foreground of progression in our involvement as humanity because art evokes an emotion,” said Pedro Jermaine, artist and first vice president of The Real Rosewood Foundation. “I had to pull some beauty out of this.”
That’s because what happened in Rosewood was dark and ugly. According to the foundation, early New Year's morning 1923, a white woman claimed a black man assaulted her. Her husband then formed a mob, and racial violence ensued, killing some and destroying the entire town.
"This ugly history doesn't need to repeat itself,” said Lizzie Robinson Jenkins, founder and CEO of The Real Rosewood Foundation. Robinson has made it her life’s mission to keep the history of Rosewood alive.
"As ugly as the history is, I tell it positively,” she said. Her aunt was a survivor of the attack, and she vowed to never let the story die. She said even after the attack, she was taunted and threatened with violence. It often forced her to come stay with Robinson and her family.
"She was trying to escape the conspirators, the KKK. They followed her after the Rosewood massacre because they didn't want her to share with anybody."
Yet, she survived, and so did her story--a story of strength, courage and hope.
“No matter what you're going through. If people can relate to the story of Rosewood and what they went through, it might give them some hope that you can overcome obstacles that you're going through yourselves,” said Jermaine.
The new exhibit features Jermaine’s Rosewood art, as well as other pieces from his collection. The art is on display in the main concourse between the Hard Rock Cafe and P.F. Chang’s.
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.
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