Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys
An archeological survey and excavation of the “Boot Hill Burial Ground” on the campus of the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida by anthropologists at the University of South Florida has gained national attention. State and Federal leaders have responded to requests from families for knowledge about relatives who are presumed buried at the school and repatriation. Florida Senator Bill Nelson submitted letters to Florida Governor Rick Scott and US Attorney General Eric Holder asking for their assistance and support in investigating alleged crimes at the site. Ultimately, permission was granted by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Cabinet for the complete excavation and analysis of all children buried there.
The Florida State Reform School (a.k.a. Florida Industrial School and later Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys) was in use from 1900-2011. From its inception it was suppose to be a refuge for troubled children convicted of crimes. By initial design, children were to receive training and education that would propel them to become productive citizens. This design proved conceptually sound but in practice difficult to maintain. Children were originally committed to the school for criminal offenses, such as theft and murder, but the law was later amended to identify minor offenses including incorrigibility, truancy, or dependency, which propelled the school to become the largest training and reform school in the country at the time. Archival records and documented narratives highlight contradictions to stated goals of reform, from the practice of child labor and corporal punishment to a change in the very name of the institution. However, no understanding of the Florida State Reform School over the course of its history can be understood without consideration of the impact and implications of segregation, particularly those relating to criminal justice. Until 1968 the school was segregated into two completely separate campuses or departments for “white” and “colored” students. Segregation permeated every aspect of life at the school as it did in Florida and throughout the US South until the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
To date, the reported deaths of nearly 100 boys have been documented and an estimated 50 burials have been identified through the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) at the school burial ground called “Boot Hill”. White crosses commemorate 31 burials and were placed in the general area of the cemetery in the 1990s, decades following the actual deaths. Very little documentation about the history of the cemetery or who is buried there, including exact locations of individual burials, is known.
The USF research team began work in 2011 to document the burial ground and identify who may have been buried there and determine the circumstances surrounding deaths that occurred from 1914-1960. This initiative is a multi-disciplinary project that incorporates forensic and cultural anthropology, archaeology, legal medicine, investigations, and library sciences. One outcome of the project will be documentation of the cemetery findings in this permanent USF Digital Library Collection accessible anytime, anywhere by the public.
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Bibliography, Readings of Note for Dozier Project, 2012
Antoinette T. Jackson
A list of books and articles related to race, slavery, and segregation in the United States, as well as the penal system and "disparities in systems of justice" in the United States.
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Bill, Florida SB 46: Relief of Victims/Florida Reform School for Boys/Department of Juvenile Justice, 2012
Mike Fasano
The text of Florida Senate Bill 46 which was "an act for the relief of the victims who were abused while confined to the Florida Reform School for Boys located in Marianna and Okeechobee."
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Report, Documentation of the Boot Hill Cemetery (8JA1860) at the Former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys: Interim Report, 2012
Erin H. Kimmerle, Richard W. Estabrook, Christian E. Wells, and Antoinette T. Jackson
This interim report provides a summary of the archaeological and historical investigation into the creation and initial identification of graves at the Boot Hill Cemetery in Marianna, Florida to date. The Florida State Reform School, also known as the "Florida Industrial School for Boys" (FIS) and most recently as the "Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys", first opened on January 1, 1900 on 1400 acres of land. Beginning as early as 1901, reports of children being chained to walls in irons, brutal whippings, and peonage surfaced.
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Motion, Singleton v. Board of Commissioners: Motion for Final Judgment, October 9, 1969
United States. District Court (Florida : Northern District)
A motion for final judgement in the case Willie Carl Singleton vs. Board of Commissioners of State Institutions in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division. The case was one where Black inmates of the Florida state reform schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the Board of Commissioners hoping to have racial segregation in the schools declared unconstitutional.
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Court Proceeding, Singleton v. Board of Commissioners: Answer, August 18, 1966
United States. District Court (Florida : Northern District)
An answer to the plaintiffs in the case Willie Carl Singleton vs. Board of Commissioners of State Institutions in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division. The case was one where Black inmates of the Florida state reform schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the Board of Commissioners hoping to have racial segregation in the schools declared unconstitutional.
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Motion, Singleton v. Board of Commissioners: Motion to Dismiss, February 14, 1964
United States. District Court (Florida : Northern District)
A motion to dismiss the case Willie Carl Singleton vs. Board of Commissioners of State Institutions in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division. The case was one where Black inmates of the Florida state reform schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the Board of Commissioners hoping to have racial segregation in the schools declared unconstitutional.
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Map, Campus Map, Florida School for Boys at Marianna, October 28, 1963
Andy Martinez
A blueprint campus map of the Florida School for Boys in Marianna, Florida.
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Congressional Report, Juvenile Delinquency Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, March 27, 1958
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency
A report by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency issued March 27, 1958.
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Congressional Record, March 4, 1958
United States. Congress. Senate
1958 Congressional record that includes a note for a committee meeting on juvenile delinquency and testimony by Dr. Eugene Byrd.
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Transcript, Testimony of Dr. Eugene Byrd before the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, March 4, 1958
Eugene Byrd
Dr. Eugene Byrd, a Miami psychologist who had worked at the Florida School for Boys, was called on March 4, 1958, to give testimony before the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary.
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Map, A.G. Dozier Training School Renovations and Improvements, 1950
Ervin & Davis, P.A.
A map with drawings for campus renovations and improvements for A.G. Dozier Training School.
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Newspaper Clippings, 1914 Florida Industrial School Fire, 1914-1915
Multiple
Newspaper articles covering the 1914 fire at the Florida State Industrial school.
