A Mixture of Questions on the State of Florida Quiz

Answer: African-Americans using their Constitutional right to vote in the presidential election

I grew up in Ocoee, Florida and lived there for 30 years. Ocoee was founded sometime in the mid 1850s. Ocoee's original name was Starke Lake but changed after a Captain Sims, formerly in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was given a land grant of about 75 acres. He was originally from Tennessee and renamed the town "Ocoee" after the Ocoee River in Tennessee and Georgia.

The massacre happened because two African-Americans named Julius "July" Perry and Moses Norman attempted to vote. Perry was lynched from a telephone pole next to the highway (presumably HWY 50 also called West Colonial Drive) and Norman possibly escaped. He was never seen again. Some speculate he was later lynched or fled to New York City. The Ocoee white population weren't the only ones in the massacre, they recruited other whites from Orlando (Ocoee is a part of the Orlando Metropolitan area), Apopka, Sanford, and Winter Garden. They burned every building owned or operated by the African-American residents including schools and churches and stole their land, Perry and Norman owning the most.

Today Ocoee is still mainly white. The African-American community in Ocoee only makes up about 15% of the estimated 40,000 people currently living there, as of 2014. The city has attempted to fix the damage that was caused in 1920 by having a Martin Luther King, Jr. parade every year, naming a street after MLK, and welcoming black business owners to the city. According to the Institute of Southern Studies, the Ocoee massacre is considered the "single bloodiest day in modern American political history". While many whites in Ocoee wish to forget the past some feel it needs to be remembered so it won't happen again. I agree.

Answer: My Friend Steve

My Friend Steve was at one time compared to the Counting Crows by Allmusic. "Charmed" also charted at number 30 on the Adult Top 40 charts. The band released a song called "Smash Baby" in 2001 on the Axis Magazine compilation. "Charmed" was also the theme song to the television show "Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane" which starred Selma Blair.

Answer: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

He became my favorite baseball player in 1987 when I was ten years old. He started his career with the Blue Jays and went on to play for the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, then ending his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays).

His career batting average is .284 with 2,490 hits, 1,550 RBIs, and 493 HRs. He started his career with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1986. He is a five time All-Star and is a World Series Champion from 1995 with the Atlanta Braves.

He tied Lou Gehrig's Home Run record. He became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and lost every ballot to 2014. Fred McGriff was voted in January 2016 as one of the 25 best Major League baseball players not in the Hall of Fame at number 20 in "The Sporting News" magazine.

Answer: Bethel Baptist Institutional Church

The original members of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church (originally called Bethel Baptist Church) were four white people and two African-American slaves. Bethel remained interracial during and after the American Civil War but African-Americans outnumbered whites by a large number.

The white members decided some time after the Civil War that they should segregate the church and they attempted to forcefully remove the African-American members of the congregation. It was taken to court and the court decided that the church belonged to the African-American members instead of the white members.

The white members left and formed their own church called Tabernacle Baptist Church (later renamed First Baptist Church).

Answer: Ann E. Dunwoody

Not only was General Dunwoody the first woman promoted to four stars in the US Army but in the entire US Military. Janet C. Wolfenbarger is a former four star General with the United States Air Force. Michelle J. Howard is not only a former four star Admiral with the United States Navy but also the first African American to gain that rank, as well. Carol Mutter was a Lt. General in the United States Marine Corp.

Answer: Howey-in-the-Hills

Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida was founded by William John Howey, born January 19, 1876 in Odin, Illinois. He became mayor of his town in 1925, and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Florida twice as a Republican in a heavily dominated Democratic State. His house which is called "Howey House" is listed as a U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Howey died June 7, 1938.

The incorrect answers are actual towns and cities in Florida. Homosassa is in Citrus County, Two Egg is in Jackson County, and Sopchoppy is in Wakulla County.

Answer: The Florida Mental Health Act of 1971

The case of Ruby McCollum has gained recent national attention from some scholars on the basis of race and gender roles in US politics. Several books and documentaries have looked closer into the life of Ruby, and the court case/trials she went through.

Ruby (née Jackson) McCollum was born August 31, 1909 in Zuber (Marion County), Florida. Her parents sent her to a private school in Ocala named Fessenden Academy (currently an elementary school) after noticing she was quite intelligent. She married Sam McCollum in 1931. Their wealth came about by running an illegal gambling/liquor business, owning a funeral home, selling burial policies, and owning a tobacco farm outside the city. They had four children including the child as the result of Dr. C. Leroy Adams.

The court case has been stated to have some historical interest to it. It is said it was the first trial that allowed an African-American to defend themselves openly in a court in the Southern United States. However, the judge didn't allow any other evidence to be entered to prove the forced relationship with Adams. Noted anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston covered, from beginning to end, the trial of Ruby McCollum. At the time, it was not only a national sensation story but reached internationally as well.

Answer: Florida City

Florida City (nickname "Trap City") is located in Miami-Dade County in Southern Florida. The original name (based on a land promotion) was Detroit, founded in 1910. The name was changed to "Florida City" in 1914 when it became incorporated. Florida City is the southernmost city in the US not situated on an island.

It also serves as an entrance to the main section of the Everglades National Park.

Answer: Rosewood

The Rosewood massacre took place in January 1923. The massacre lasted over a period of one week. The residents of Rosewood didn't just stand by and allow their town to fall, they defended it until the end when they began hiding in nearby woods and swamps until they could flee to larger nearby cities. Officially it was reported that only eight people died however witnesses stated it was more around 25-30 killed.

Florida became the first state in the United States to compensate survivors and the town of Rosewood's descendants for damages brought on by racial violence. Florida's legislature also designated Rosewood a Florida Heritage Landmark in 2004, and posted a sign commemorating it on State Rd. 24. There are still a few structures standing in the abandoned town of Rosewood.

The film is loosely based on the actual events and while it has a relatively good rating with critics and fans it flopped at the box office.

Answer: Florida Black Bear

The Florida Black Bear is a subspecies of the American Black Bear. Their habitats not only include Florida but also Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. I have been lucky enough to see a baby Florida Black Bear and it was being chased by a cow adjacent to the property I live on outside my hometown of Live Oak, Florida near Suwannee River State Park.