Donal H Godfrey is a former elementary school student whose home was bombed in February 1964 after he was enrolled in the previously all-white Lackawanna Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida.[1] One man pled guilty,[2] mechanic William Sterling Rosencrans Jr. who moved to Jacksonville in September 1963 from Indiana,[3][4] and five other men were acquitted in a federal trial with an all-white jury. All were accused of being part of the Ku Klux Klan.
Godfrey's home was at the corner of Gilmore Street and Owen Avenue. He was six and in first grade.[5][6] Godfrey and his mother were at home at the time of the bombing but were uninjured.[7]
J. B. Stoner served as defense attorney for the acquitted defendants. Stoner also represented Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin James Earl Ray.[8]
Godfrey wrote a book about his life experiences titled Leaving Freedom to Find Peace: My Life's Journey.[9] He was interviewed about the book on the podcast This Week in America by Ric Bratton. Author Tim Gilmore interviewed him by phone from his home in Monrovia, Liberia.[10] A new documentary about the bombing, including interviews with Godfrey and his mother, Iona King, will premiere in February 2024, the 60th anniversary of the bombing. The director of the film, Hal Jacobs, lived four streets over from Godfrey at the time of the bombing.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Klan Trial Opens in Florida". The New York Times. July 1, 1964 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Rosecrans v. United States, 378 F.2d 561 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com.
- ^ "ONE ADMITS GUILT IN RACE BOMBING; 5 Klan Leaders Also Held in Jacksonville, Fla., Case". The New York Times. March 14, 1964 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "50 years ago: Klansmen acquitted in federal racial bombing case | Jax Daily Record". Jacksonville Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. November 24, 2014.
- ^ "4 IN KLAN CLEARED OF RACE BOMBING; Freed of Violating Rights of 6-Year-Old Florida Boy". The New York Times. November 26, 1964 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Bartley, Abel A. (1999). "The 1960 and 1964 Jacksonville Riots: How Struggle Led to Progress". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 78 (1): 46–73. JSTOR 30150542 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "50 years ago: Acquittals and mistrials in federal racial bombing case | Jax Daily Record". Jacksonville Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. July 7, 2014.
- ^ "Lackawanna Elementary School". jaxpsychogeo.com. May 27, 2017.
- ^ Review, Pacific Book (December 22, 2021). "Author Spotlight: Donal H. Godfrey".
- ^ Patton, Charlie. "Tim Gilmore talks Tuesday night about his online history of Jacksonville KKK". The Florida Times-Union.