Editing Escambia High School riots
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[[Image:EscambiaHighRiot1.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Students at Escambia High School flee from a tear gas cannister]] | [[Image:EscambiaHighRiot1.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Students at Escambia High School flee from a tear gas cannister]] | ||
− | The '''Escambia High School riots''' were racially motivated nonviolent and violent demonstrations which occurred in varying forms between [[1972]] and [[1977]] at the then-newly | + | The '''Escambia High School riots''' were racially motivated nonviolent and violent demonstrations which occurred in varying forms between [[1972]] and [[1977]] at the then-newly desegregated [[Escambia High School]]. The centerpiece riot, which received the most publicity and was the most violent demonstration, occurred on [[February 5]], [[1976]]. |
− | ==Background | + | ==Background== |
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[[Escambia High School]], formerly an all-white school, was forcibly desegregated in [[1969]]. In the fall of 1972, black students rioted at a home football game for their team, whose mascot was a "Rebel," modelled in appearance after the [[Wikipedia:Colonel Reb|Colonel Reb]] of the [[Wikipedia:University of Mississippi|University of Mississippi]]. The school band played the official school song, "[[Wikipedia:Dixie (song)|Dixie]]," and it was from there that the violence ensued.<ref>[http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/23/State/A_dubious_demise.shtml "State: A dubious demise."] ''St. Petersburg Times'', January 23, 2005.</ref> | [[Escambia High School]], formerly an all-white school, was forcibly desegregated in [[1969]]. In the fall of 1972, black students rioted at a home football game for their team, whose mascot was a "Rebel," modelled in appearance after the [[Wikipedia:Colonel Reb|Colonel Reb]] of the [[Wikipedia:University of Mississippi|University of Mississippi]]. The school band played the official school song, "[[Wikipedia:Dixie (song)|Dixie]]," and it was from there that the violence ensued.<ref>[http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/23/State/A_dubious_demise.shtml "State: A dubious demise."] ''St. Petersburg Times'', January 23, 2005.</ref> | ||
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Throughout 1974, the [[Escambia County School District]] appealed the decision, and on [[January 25]], [[1975]], the United States Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school board, overturning the injunction and decreeing that the school board should be in charge of the matter.<ref>''Augustus v. School Board of Escambia County'', 507 F.2d 152, 1975</ref> | Throughout 1974, the [[Escambia County School District]] appealed the decision, and on [[January 25]], [[1975]], the United States Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school board, overturning the injunction and decreeing that the school board should be in charge of the matter.<ref>''Augustus v. School Board of Escambia County'', 507 F.2d 152, 1975</ref> | ||
− | ==Election | + | ==Election and riot== |
− | [[Image:EscambiaHighRiot2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Non-student Raymond Lindsay is arrested for aggravated assaulted]] | + | [[Image:EscambiaHighRiot2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Non-student [[Raymond Lindsay]] is arrested for aggravated assaulted]] |
− | On [[February 4]], [[1976]], an impromptu school election was held in which students were allowed to vote to either keep the name as "Raiders" or change the name back to "Rebels." The students who preferred "Rebels" failed to secure a [[Wikipedia:supermajority|supermajority]] needed to win the ballot. | + | On [[February 4]], [[1976]], an impromptu school election was held in which students were allowed to vote to either keep the name as "Raiders" or change the name back to "Rebels." The students who preferred "Rebels" failed to secure a [[Wikipedia:supermajority|supermajority]] needed to win the ballot, and the next day, a riot ensued over four hours in the school day.<ref name="schoolboard">Richard Robbins. [http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/richard.robbins/Belief/chapter_two.htm "The Belief Machine: The Metaphoric Construction of the World."]</ref> Four students were shot in the violence and twenty-six students were injured by rocks and debris while the calamity involved students smashing windows and trophy cases, as well as fighting with other students. It was estimated that three-quarters of the 2,523 students who attended Escambia High were involved in the riot. |
− | + | In the days following the riot, attendance at the school dropped dramatically, especially among black students. There were reports of white students jeering at blacks on the nearly empty buses, and a white youth was found loitering near the school with a length of chain, but no incidents of violence occurred. | |
− | + | ==Aftermath== | |
− | + | In the weeks that followeed, however, crosses were burned on many school board members' yards, with one member, who was black, specifically targeted with a gunshot which went through his window. A human relations board member as well as a state legislator also had their homes torched. After all the retaliatory violence both at the school and in the community, the Florida National Guard was called in to patrol the school until the end of the year. | |
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− | + | In the fall of 1976, students chose the name "Gators" after a second ballot was deemed necessary. On [[July 26]], [[1977]], the [[Wikipedia:Ku Klux Klan|Ku Klux Klan]] held a rally on the school grounds with regards to the issue, which necessitated a reorganization of the school board. The name "Gators" has been used for Escambia High's athletic teams since, without incident. | |
− | In the | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
+ | {{refbegin}} | ||
+ | *Mary Barrineau. "Escambia High Closed After 30 Hurt in Nickname Melee." ''Pensacola Journal'', February 6, 1976. | ||
+ | {{refend}} | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
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[[Category:Demonstrations & unrest]] [[Category:Race relations]] [[Category:Escambia County School District]] | [[Category:Demonstrations & unrest]] [[Category:Race relations]] [[Category:Escambia County School District]] |