Parramore in Orlando in Orange County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Lynching of Arthur Henry
⎯⎯⎯
Racial Violence in America

Community Remembrance Project

Racial Violence in America Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Diane Murphy, February 14, 2024

1. Racial Violence in America Marker

Inscription. The Lynching of Arthur Henry Shortly after midnight on Friday, November 27, 1925, three white men abducted a 35-year-old Black man named Arthur Henry from his bed at Orange General Hospital. Nearly two weeks later, Mr. Henry's lifeless body was found in the unincorporated community of Conway, shot through the heart. Hours before his abduction, Mr. Henry was admitted to the hospital with injuries after exchanging gunfire with police. Officials claimed that Mr. Henry shot at detectives as soon as they entered his home to investigate a report. In contrast, two witnesses denied that account and said the shooting happened while police had Mr. Henry in a back room. In this era, Black people were regularly presumed guilty without evidence - especially when accused of harming white police officers. Mr. Henry never had the opportunity to defend himself at trial: he was shot and beaten in his home, then arrested and confined in the hospital's "Negro Ward" with hands and feet shackled. The hospital superintendent reportedly warned police that mob violence was likely, and an officer was assigned to stand guard, but no one stopped

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the mob from seizing Mr. Henry from the hospital. His corpse was found 12 days later. While Mr. Henry's wife, Viola Henry, and three other Black women were arrested as "witnesses" to the original shooting, no one was arrested or held accountable for his lynching. A coroner's jury concluded Mr. Henry died at the hands of "unknown persons."

Racial Violence in America Lynching and racial violence terrorized thousands of Black people in the United States between 1865 and 1950. After the Civil War, a persistent ideology of white supremacy led to violent abuse of Black people and decades of political, social, and economic exploitation. As white mobs were permitted to engage in brutal violence with impunity, lynching emerged the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, intended to enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Lynchings often included burnings and mutilation, sometimes in front of crowds numbering in the thousands. Like Arthur Henry, many Black people were taken from homes, public spaces, and courtrooms or handed over to mobs by law enforcement officials who had a legal duty to protect them. Many lynching victims'

The Lynching of Arthur Henry / Racial Violence in America Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Diane Murphy

2. The Lynching of Arthur Henry / Racial Violence in America Marker

names were not recorded and will never be known, but more than 344 racial terror lynchings have been documented in Florida alone including at least 33 in Orange County.

The Wells'Built Museum was previously the location of the segregated Wells'Bui1t Hotel, established in 1926 as the area's first Black hotel by Dr. William Monroe Wells, a prominent Black doctor. Dr. Wells was the coroner who signed Arthur Henry's death certificate after his lynching in 1925. This location is also just a few blocks from Mr. Henry's home at what is now the I-4/East-West Expressway ramp, where he was shot, and the Black ward of Orange General Hospital, from which he was abducted.

Erected 2023 by Equal Justice Initiative, Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Law Enforcement. In addition, it is included in the Lynching in America series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 27, 1925.

Location. 28° 32.305′ N, 81° 23.134′ W. Marker is in Orlando, Florida, in Orange County. It is in Parramore. It is on West South

Photographed by Diane Murphy, February 2024

3. Racial Violence in America Marker

Street west of South Division Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 519 W South St, Orlando FL 32805, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Florida.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wells' Built Hotel (a few steps from this marker); Hankins Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bumby Hardware (approx. 0.3 miles away); 1885 Bell (approx. 0.4 miles away); First National Bank (approx. 0.4 miles away); Orlando Bank & Trust (approx. 0.4 miles away); Original Jones High School / Callahan Elementary School (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of

Photographed by Diane Murphy, February 2024

4. Racial Violence in America Marker

all markers in Orlando.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Holden-Parramore Historic District (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . . Wells’Built Museum. (Submitted on February 15, 2024.)

Photographed by Diane Murphy, February 2024

5. Racial Violence in America Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 14, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. This page has been viewed 444 times since then and 36 times this year. Last updated on February 16, 2024, by Gianluca De Fazio of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Photos: 1. submitted on February 14, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. 2. submitted on February 15, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 14, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

The Lynching of Arthur Henry⎯⎯⎯Racial Violence in America

Community Remembrance Project

The Lynching of Arthur Henry
⎯⎯⎯
Racial Violence in America