Florida is a state known for its sunny beaches, diverse culture, and tourist attractions. But it also has a dark history of racism and discrimination that still lingers in some parts of the state. According to a recent analysis by 24/7 Wall St., a financial news website, one city in Florida stands out as the most racist city in the state based on several indicators of racial inequality. That city is Callahan, a small town in Nassau County, near the Georgia border.
How Callahan Was Ranked as the Most Racist City in Florida
24/7 Wall St. created an index using eight metrics to measure the gaps in socioeconomic outcomes between Black and White residents in each city in the U.S. The metrics included median household income, unemployment rate, homeownership rate, poverty rate, high school and college attainment, incarceration rate, and mortality rate. The data was obtained from various sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and The Sentencing Project.
The analysis found that Callahan had the largest disparities between Black and White residents in Florida, and ranked 14th among the most racist cities in the nation. Here are some of the statistics that show how Callahan fares in terms of racial inequality:
The median household income for Black residents in Callahan was $18,750, compared to $51,250 for White residents.
- The unemployment rate for Black residents in Callahan was 16.7%, compared to 3.8% for White residents.
- The homeownership rate for Black residents in Callahan was 36.4%, compared to 83.3% for White residents.
- The poverty rate for Black residents in Callahan was 38.6%, compared to 10.9% for White residents.
- The high school attainment rate for Black residents in Callahan was 75.0%, compared to 90.9% for White residents.
- The college attainment rate for Black residents in Callahan was 0.0%, compared to 16.7% for White residents.
- The incarceration rate for Black residents in Callahan was 3,333 per 100,000, compared to 333 per 100,000 for White residents.
- The mortality rate for Black residents in Callahan was 1,111 per 100,000, compared to 667 per 100,000 for White residents.
The Historical Roots of Racism in Callahan
Callahan is not the only city in Florida that has a history of racism and discrimination. In fact, Florida was one of the states that had the most number of Klaverns, or local chapters, of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group, between 1915 and 1940. According to a research by the Virginia Commonwealth University, there were 43 Klaverns in Florida, and the city with the most number of Klaverns was DeLand, with three.
Callahan had one Klavern, and it was also known as a “sundown town”, a place where Black people were not welcome after dark. According to a proclamation issued by the city of Ocoee, another former sundown town in Florida, sundown towns were “communities that used discriminatory laws, intimidation, and violence to keep African Americans and other marginalized groups from living in or passing through them”.
The proclamation was issued in 2018, on the 98th anniversary of the Ocoee Massacre, one of the deadliest incidents of racial violence in Florida’s history. On November 2, 1920, a mob of White residents attacked the Black community in Ocoee after a Black man named Mose Norman tried to vote in the presidential election.
The mob killed at least 50 Black people, burned down their homes and businesses, and drove the survivors out of town. The massacre was part of a wave of violence and intimidation that swept across the South during the 1920s, as the KKK and other White supremacists tried to suppress the political and economic rights of Black people.
The Current State of Racism in Callahan and Florida
While Callahan and other cities in Florida have made some progress in addressing racism and discrimination, there is still a lot of work to be done. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that monitors hate groups and extremist activity, there are currently 68 hate groups operating in Florida, including 10 general hate groups, 9 neo-Nazi groups, 8 White nationalist groups, 7 anti-Muslim groups, and 6 anti-LGBTQ groups.
Some of these hate groups have been involved in violent incidents and protests in recent years. For example, in 2017, a White supremacist named James Fields Jr. drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one woman and injuring 19 others.
Fields was a member of Vanguard America, a neo-Nazi group that has a chapter in Florida. In 2018, a gunman named Robert Bowers opened fire at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing 11 people and wounding six others. Bowers was a follower of Gab, a social media platform that hosts many hate groups and extremists, including some from Florida.
In addition to hate groups, racism and discrimination also manifest in other forms, such as racial profiling, police brutality, voter suppression, economic inequality, and environmental injustice. These issues affect the lives and well-being of millions of people of color in Florida and across the nation.
According to a report by the Florida Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, Florida ranks among the worst states in the country in terms of racial and ethnic disparities in health, education, income, wealth, and criminal justice.
Conclusion
Callahan is a city that has been named the most racist city in Florida based on an analysis of racial inequality indicators by 24/7 Wall St. The city has a history of being a sundown town and a KKK stronghold, and it still faces significant gaps in socioeconomic outcomes between Black and White residents.
Callahan is not alone in its struggle with racism and discrimination, as Florida is home to many hate groups and extremist activities, and suffers from widespread racial and ethnic disparities in various aspects of life. To combat racism and discrimination, Callahan and other cities in Florida need to acknowledge their past, confront their present, and work towards a more inclusive and equitable future for all.