January 3 - Rosewood

This dramatic movie has a scene that happens today – January 3. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

ROSEWOOD                          

Rosewood is a mixed-race community in 1920’s Florida. A report is received that a Black man has escaped from the chain gang. A Black man named Mann arrives in the town  and becomes smitten with Beulah, the granddaughter of  Aunt Sarah the matriarch of the town. Fanny Taylor, who is White is having an adulterous affair and gets beaten up by her lover. Aunt Sarah and her granddaughter  Philomena see that the man is White. Fanny then creates a story that a strange Black man tried to rape her. This causes the interruption of a land auction where Mann was bidding against John Wright, the general store owner and the town’s leading White citizen.  After bloodhounds go to Sarah house her grandson Aaron is taken away by a White mob, but he is saved from lynching and jailed. The mob is not happy about this and go after Sam Carter, the local blacksmith, saving he gave a ride to Fanny’s assailant and he is lynched. Mann leaves the area, sure he will be the mob’s next target. During a birthday party the mob comes to Sarah’s house. When she tries to calm them she is shot. Her son Sylvester then kills two White men. Sylvester sends the women and children in the town into the nearby swamps to hide. The mob returns and burns down the house. On January 3, 1923 Mann escapes from a White mob that is stopped at the county line by other Whites. The mob returns to burn Black property in Rosewood and Mr. Wright reluctantly hides two Blacks in his house. [1:27:25 to 1:49:09]The next day Mr. Wright meets with Mann and devises a plan to get the women and children out of the area on the train. Mann survives an attempted lynching and gets the women and children to the train. As the Black men who have been hiding in the swamp try to board a White mob appears. Mann kills several of the White mob and the train escapes.      

A tragic, but true tale. It explores the stupidity of racism. A must see film.

At 1:20 it gives the date as Thursday December 31, 1922. At 1:27:31 it says it is Sunday, which would be the third.

Producer - Jon Peters

Director - John Singleton

Screenplay - Gregory Poirier

Runtime – 2 hours 20 minutes     

Released – February 21, 1997

Starring –

Ving Rhames as Mann

Don Cheadle as Sylvester Carrier

Jon Voight as John Wright

Esther Rolle as Aunt Sarah