Mount Dora in Lake County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mabel Norris Reese
Publisher Reporter, Mount Dora Topic
| | (1914-1995) | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, November 7, 2024
1. Mabel Norris Reese Marker
This courageous journalist exposed rampant corruption and racism among Lake County's leading law enforcement and judicial officials during the Jim Crow era of the 1950s.
Her groundbreaking coverage revealed widespread cases of planted evidence, false arrests, brutal beatings, and premeditated murders.
Her life was threatened, a cross burned in her yard, her home bombed, and her business vandalized at the hands of vigilantes.
Yet she faced down these threats with a relentless pursuit of truth and justice. Her quest to ensure civil rights reflects the highest qualities of humanity and continues to underscore the importance of a free press.
Erected 2021.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Communications • Law Enforcement • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1914.
Location. 28° 47.968′ N, 81° 38.751′ W. Marker is in Mount Dora, Florida, in Lake County. It is on Alexander Street just south of West 4th Avenue, on the left when traveling north. The marker and sculpture are located along the sidewalk on the east side of Sunset Park, near the northeast corner of the park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 230 West 4th Avenue, Mount Dora FL 32757, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Orlando and 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.
this page online
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. The "Groveland Four"
Also see . . .
1. Mabel Norris Reese: Fearless Voice for Truth (Orange County History Center).
Excerpt: Mabel Norris Reese began her life career in journalism in Akron, Ohio, where she first worked as a reporter for the Akron Times-Press and, from 1935 to 1941, as a reporter for the Akron Beacon-Journal. In 1947, she and her husband, Paul, a former Beacon-Journal typesetter, bought the Mount Dora Topic, a small weekly newspaper supported by local advertising.(Submitted on November 18, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Reese had experienced segregation when she accompanied the Black winner of an Akron spelling bee to the
national contest in Washington, D.C., in 1936, and in Florida she recognized segregation as the law of the land. In Mount Dora, though, she clashed with Lake Countys sheriff, Willis McCall, over issues of racism and corruption.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, November 7, 20242. Mabel Norris Reese Sculpture
2. Mabel's Story (remembermabel.com).
Excerpt: Accused of raping a white woman in 1949, black suspects who became known as The Groveland Four were victims of the time and victims of Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall. One, Ernest Green, was killed by a posse before he could stand trial. The others (Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Charles Greenlee) were imprisoned and brutally tortured by McCall and his deputies to coerce confessions.(Submitted on November 18, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Reese, owner and editor of the small town Mount Dora Topic newspaper, initially sided with McCall. But when he murdered Sammy Shepherd and wounded Walter Irvin by claiming the handcuffed prisoners had tried to escape, Reese realized she had been an unwitting accomplice in his reign of terror. Despite threats to her life and her livelihood which found the KKK detonating two bombs at her home, burning a cross in her lawn, poisoning her dog, and launching a rival newspaper to drive her out of business, she
spent the remainder of her career dedicated to holding the corrupt sheriff, deputies, judges, and attorneys to task. Even as she faced McCalls wrath, she continued to write articles in support of the two surviving Groveland Boys until they were released from prison.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, November 7, 20243. Mabel Norris Reese MemorialLooking southwest from the Alexander Street sidewalk; Sunset Park is in the background.
3. A Tribute to Mabel Norris Reese (Youtube).
Excerpt: Courageous and unrelenting in her many crusades for justice, Mount Dora Topic reporter Mabel Norris Reese spoke truth to power at a time when America was in the throes of enormous social change. Although she passed away in 1995, her reputation has grown steadily since as she came to the attention of the nation through Gilbert Kings books Beneath a Ruthless Sun and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Devil in the Grove. She was inducted into the Lake County Womens Hall of Fame in 2018 and, in 2020, recognized with a portrait sculpted in her honor. These and other signs of respect were prompted because in service to her community, her state, and her nation, Mabel Norris Reese repeatedly placed herself at risk in her search to find the truth, speak the truth... and write the truth.(Submitted on November 18, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 18, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 17, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 377 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 18, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
