When Gertrude finally got her day in court, she looked a far cry from the drunken illiterate yob that white locals had made her out to be. This is such an important time in this countrys path to recognize Recy Taylor, Buirski said. More than two-hundred black spectators entered the courtroom that day to watch the trail. Anyway at the first trial in 1944, an all-white, all-male jury dismissed the case after a mere five minutes of deliberation. But Ill get into that later. Her daughter Joyce Lee Taylor tragically died in a car accident in 1967. These men proceeded to drive her to a shaded spot by the side of a road. "[2]:119125, Rosa Parks, in her instrumental work to bring justice for Taylor, spearheaded the creation of the "Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor" (CEJRT). Most people have heard of Rosa Parks, but what about Claudette Colvin? Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old African-American sharecropper, was walking home from church in Abbeville, Alabama, on the night of September 3rd, 1944, when she was abducted and raped by six white. The case could only be reopened via an indictment from a grand jury. Wilson named the other men involved, however, Wilson said there had been no rape . After hearing of Taylors passing on Thursday, Buirski reiterated to NBC the historical significance of black women like Taylor. They drove her to Cooks store, where Fanny and West Daniel and her husband, Willie Guy Taylor, were waiting for her. This tension then sparked the fight that resulted in his death. In the boycott campaign that followed, Jo Ann Robinson, one of its leaders, played on the idea of the historic destruction of black families, stating: Next time it may be you, or your daughter, or your mother. Instead, the police merely fined Wilson $250. The court issued her a fine and sparked community outrage. This article has been updated to include Danielle L. McGuires book, which includes information about Recy Taylors life. Recy Taylor photographed in 2010. [2]:33 Investigators interviewed the rapists, and four of the seven men "admitted to having intercourse with Taylor, but argued that she was essentially a prostitute and willing participant. Furthermore, in February 1959, North Carolina officials requested that the boys mothers sign a waiver to release their children. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Both boys were sentenced to reform school, ideally until the age of twenty-one. Despite having this information, a national campaign rallying to her defense, and a gubernatorial intervention, it was still not convincing enough. [2]:39, At the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Oprah Winfrey discussed and brought awareness to Taylor's story. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sent a young activist from its Montgomery, Alabama, chapter named Rosa Parks to investigate. It is these strong womens voices of the 40s and early 50s and their efforts to take back their bodies that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other movements that followed, notably the one we are witnessing today.. Family members linked to this person will appear here. At 17, her mother died and she cared for her six siblings. Cook backed up the sheriffs story. The official investigation did not even include a lineup for Taylor to try to identify her attackers. The two black women were left with these four white men. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Parks and other activists formed the "Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor" to bring attention to the case. Resultantly, the country erupted in protest owing to the hastiness of sentencing and the secrecy surrounding the decisions made. One of the other people with her corroborated her statement. The group had an illustrious membership; "luminaries included W.E.B. She eventually moved to Florida where she worked picking oranges. All were students at Florida A&M University. She and her family received dozens of death threats from white neighbors in her community. She passed away in her sleep at a nursing home in Abbeville. Photo Credit: Indian Country Media Network. The only way it could be re-opened would be through an indictment from a second grand jury. They were, however, sentenced to life in prison. [10], The black community was shocked at the second dismissal of Taylor's case. Her story was also featured in Danielle L. McGuires 2010 book At The Dark End Of The Street: Black Women, Rape And Resistance A New History Of The Civil Rights Movement From Rosa Parks To The Rise of Black Power. One Year of #MeToo. The Rape of Recy Taylor They were Luther Lee, Hugo Wilson, William Howerton, Robert Gamble, Herbert Lovett, Willie Joe Culpepper and Dollard. The case received renewed public attention with a 2010 book, a 2017 documentary and when Taylor was mentioned by Oprah Winfrey during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2018 Golden Globes. "[2]:36 Despite the outcome, the case was considered a major victory for the formation of the civil rights movement because of the successful mobilization of activists across the nation: "The Recy Taylor case brought the building blocks of the Montgomery bus boycott together a decade [before the boycott]. He died at the age of 63 alone, never married with no children. Recy Taylor (ne Corbitt; December 31, 1919 December 28, 2017)[2]:297 was an African-American woman from Abbeville in Henry County, Alabama. He pled innocent on November 9th and claimed though he had sex with the girl, he did not use any force and that he should not be prosecuted because he just wanted to have an interracial sexual experience. . Parks took the story back with her to Montgomery and began organizing. In her capacity as secretary of the NAACP, Rosa investigated the rape, and, along with other activists, organized the Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor. At some point, she separated from her husband, who passed in the early 1960s. based on information from your browser. On the 3rd September 1944, an African-American sharecropper named Recy Taylor walked home from church with a friend and her son. The grand jury met in early October, but only Taylor and her associates testified, and no indictments were issued. In the months following the trial, Taylor received multiple death threats, and her home was firebombed. Four years after his release, he tracked down a black American woman that he thought was Betty Jean Owens. She could not name her rapists, but told the sheriff the car she had been in was a green Chevrolet; he recognized the vehicle and brought Hugo Wilson to Taylor, who identified him as one of her assailants. Taylor was a 24-year-old married mother with a three-year-old daughter in 1944. She had a husband and a young child. At trial, the prosecution argued Little simply seduced Alligood just to murder him and escape. She loved going to church, she loved to sing. ). Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Recy Taylor died on December 28, 2017, a few days before her 98th birthday. With women being singled out on Time magazines cover, as part of the #MeToo campaign, I really want to draw attention to the black women who spoke up when their lives were seriously in danger.. Four of the seven men admitted to intercourse with Recy but argued she was essentially a prostitute and willing. When more white Americans boarded the bus, the driver moved the sign for coloured people back a row. Claudette Colvin pictured alongside a news article from the time. It was only when he learned of historian Danielle McGuire's research for her book that he gained access to archives and information about the attack. In February 1945, a second all-white all-male jury declined to indict the men. "[2]:13. This project was made possible through the National Park Service in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. To this day, neither the city or the state have apologized to the boys for their treatment. As a result, Governor Sparks launched an investigation and Sheriff Gramble was questioned about his failure to ensure justice on the behalf of Taylor. Finally, the case also demonstrated the lack of protection for black motherhood. The case of Joan Little became a cause of celebration for those in the civil rights, feminist, and anti-death penalty movements. You can always change this later in your Account settings. After the men kidnapped Taylor and assaulted her for several hours, they left her blindfolded on the side of the road. In November 1947, a white sixty-four-year-old sharecropper named John Ed Stratford confronted Rosa. Two all-white, all-male grand juries refused to indict the men, even though one of them had confessed. To discredit and intimidate Taylor, Gramble took J. V. Kitchens and N.W. She continued to work in sharecropping and by the time she was 24 in 1944, she had married Willie Guy Taylor and they had a young daughter, Joyce Lee. . Naturally, the black community of Henry County was outraged. Despite hearing the men's confessions, two juries refused to indict. Augusta Films, LLC. Civil Rights groups felt extenuating circumstances should have been taken into account such as the fact Mr. Stratford had sexually assaulted Rosa. She was 97. However, as with the previous two cases, an all-white, all-male jury refused to indict anyone claiming there was no evidence of rape in the case. Photo Credit: Pixabay. He shared the adjoining land with her and accused her of letting her livestock roam freely on his land. She was a churchgoer. Though Taylor was known to be a diligent worker and dedicated churchgoer, the sheriff and others would eventually make false claims that Taylor had been jailed and had a history of venereal disease. But if you tell it, were going to kill you, Taylor told NPR in 2011. It turns out, however, he murdered a woman named Betty Jean Robinson Houston, a different lady. [15][16] A 2017 documentary by Nancy Buirski, The Rape of Recy Taylor, premiered at the Venice Biennale and the New York Film Festival, and was screened across the U.S. in 2018. On the 3rd September 1944, an African-American sharecropper named Recy Taylor walked home from church with a friend and her son. The trial, held in Ellaville, Georgia, only lasted one-day. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. In 1959, Rosa and her sons were finally granted parole and Rosa lived in Atlanta until her death in 1980. Taylor born on December 31, 1919 was a sharecropper who grew up in Abbeville, Alabama. And some writers drew attention to the fact that America was fighting fascism abroad during World War II while taking no steps to ensure that every citizen at home would be treated fairly and equally under the law. The stereotypical image of Rosa Parks sees her a symbol of virtuous black womanhood. She was a Black activist for racial justice and women's rights and a defendant in a high-profile rape case. Word spread through union halls, churches, barbershops, pool halls and, significantly, through the black press. Further, because a line-up was never arranged, Recy could not identify them herself. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 2017. https://www.aaihs.org/the-historical-erasure-of-violence-against-black-women/, accessed July 9, 2020. He then drove away and left her stranded in the woods. This charge carried an automatic death sentence. Her rape by six white men in 1944 drew national attention in the US. Wilson was questioned and named. After refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, police arrested the young girl. Fannie identified the car and found it belonged to a man named Hugo Wilson. About a month after the attack, six of the men said they were willing to pay Taylor $100 each if she would forget about the gang rape. Despite the warning, Taylor related details of the attack to her father, husband and the sheriff. This collective action showed that the black people in the town would protest ill-treatment of their race and the wider miscarriage of justice. Through the years, the memory of her assault lingered for Taylor. In describing Taylor later in life, McGuire said, "She was funny, witty. The young girl, Sissy Marcus, told her mother she kissed nine-year-old James Thompson and seven-year-old David Simpson on the cheek. (A seventh young man, Billy Howerton, said later that he did not take part because he knew Taylor.). Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Year should not be greater than current year. Five years later, David Beagles was paroled. [3], Recy Taylor was walking home from church on September 3, 1944, with her friend Fannie Daniel and Daniel's teenage son West, when a car pulled up behind them on the road. Despite the outcome, Taylors case was a major step towards the formation of the civil rights movement. Public transportation became the target of resistance because it was easier and safer for Black women to stop riding buses than it was to bring their attackers to justice. Recy Taylor, a civil rights icon who was one of many black women victimized with impunity in the Jim Crow Era, died in her sleep at a nursing home in Abbeville, Alabama on December 28, 2017, just three days before her 98th birthday. When students at A&M heard what happened, groups began to plan protests to demand justice for Owens. As documentary director Nancy Buirski told NBC News, "It is Recy Taylor and rare other Black women like her who spoke up first when danger was greatest.". Culpepper's retelling of the story was directly in line with Taylor's original account. . Best Known For: Recy Taylor was an African-American woman who was gang-raped by a group of young, white men in Alabama in 1944. Try again later. The deputy sheriff, Lewey Corbitt (not a close relation), was not happy about Parkss presence. His siblings were Mary Emma, J. W., Eugene and Helen. She took Taylors case 12 years before her iconic refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama. [5], In 2011, the Alabama Legislature officially apologized on behalf of the state "for its failure to prosecute her attackers." Recy Taylor tried to run, but one of the men grabbed the 24-year-old black mother and forced her into the sedan. . National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor, Committee for Equal Justice for the Rights of Mrs. Recy Taylor, "Rosa Parks' political journey didn't begin on the bus", "Recy Taylor, Who Fought for Justice After a 1944 Rape, Dies at 97", "Recy Taylor: the woman whose rape inspired Rosa Parks in 1944, and is inspiring Oprah Winfrey today", "Southern black women find justice elusive for civil rights-era rapes", "Recy Taylor's brutal rape: The NAACP sent Rosa Parks to investigate", "Material related to the case of Recy Taylor, an African American woman who was raped by six white teenagers in her hometown of Abbeville, Alabama", Alabama Department of Archives and History, "After 67 Years, Alabama Lawmakers Apologize to Woman", Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, "Abbeville mayor apologizes for 1944 rape of black woman by white men", "Civil rights-era rape victim revels in White House tour", https://www.therapeofrecytaylor.com/upcoming-screenings/, "Review: 'The Rape of Recy Taylor' Takes a Deep Dive Into Systemic Injustice", "How Recy Taylor Spoke Out Against Her Rape, Decades Before #MeToo", "Recy Taylor, who fought for justice after 1944 rape, dies", "Funeral held for Abbeville civil rights figure Recy Taylor", "Hidden Pattern Of Rape Helped Stir Civil Rights Movement", Historically black colleges and universities, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), Black players in professional American football, John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation on Civil Rights, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement, Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, Council for United Civil Rights Leadership, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)", List of lynching victims in the United States, Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, African American founding fathers of the United States, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, William "Froggie" James and Henry Salzner, Elijah Frost, Abijah Gibson, Tom McCracken, Thomas Moss, Henry Stewart, Calvin McDowell (TN), Thomas Harold Thurmond and John M. Holmes, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, National Museum of African American History and Culture, "The United States of Lyncherdom" (Twain), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Recy_Taylor&oldid=1130085255, Civil rights protests in the United States, Racially motivated violence against African Americans, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 December 2022, at 14:33. I can't help but tell the truth of what they done to me.". Recy Corbitt was born on December 31, 1919, in rural Alabama, where her family were farmworkers doing sharecropping. Upon accepting the position, Norman drove Rosa to the woods nearby and, at knife-point, raped her. On Dec. 8, Nancy Buirsky's documentary The Rape of Recy Taylor hit theaters, and finally, an incredible but largely forgotten Black woman is getting her story heard. Rosa Lee Ingram helped to highlight the specific forms of oppression poor black women faced. Dixon, would later form the Montgomery Improvement Association, which was responsible for the 1955 bus boycotts. His sentence, however, as highlighted by Professor Danielle McGuire, should not be seen as the most important aspect of this trial. Parks herself had been a victim of an attempted rape by a white man in 1931 and began her career as an anti-rape activist. Taylor will be remembered for bravely speaking out after she was gang-raped by six white men in the Jim Crow era. She married Willie Guy Taylor in 1944 and the two had a daughter named Joyce Lee. As a result of these protests, wide media coverage, and a threat to boycott classes, Judge W. Walker called together a grand jury into special session four days after the attack, on the 6th May 1959. Though she had only been with the Montgomery NAACP for a year, Parks was already a seasoned activist. In 1958, Monroe, North Carolina, two young African-American boys were charged with rape. New York: Vintage Books. On the night of the attack, she had gone to Rock Hill Holiness Church for a Pentecostal service of singing and praying and was walking home along a country highway bounded by peanut farms. [26], Taylor died in her sleep at a nursing home at the age of 97 in Abbeville, Alabama, on December 28, 2017, just three days before her 98th birthday,[27] and just 20 days after The Rape of Recy Taylor was released. She continued to work in sharecropping and by the time she was 24 in 1944, she had married Willie Guy Taylor and they had a young daughter, Joyce Lee. He wrote down everything she said and a radio address hit the country early the next morning with details of the event. "Many ladies got raped," Taylor said in the film, interviewed by its director, Nancy Buirski. His siblings were Mary Emma, J. W., Eugene and Helen. Recy Taylor *Recy Taylor was born on this date in 1919. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. A juvenile court case convicted Colvin of violating segregation laws, assault, and disturbing the peace. In 1955 the Ingrams were refused parole once more, and no reason was given. ", In 2010, Taylor said that she would appreciate an official apology, noting, "The people who done this to me they cant do no apologizing. Though no one expected equal justice, they hoped for an honest hearing. Consequently, Rosas defense team argued that her sons acted in self-defense, protecting their mother. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Hugo Wilson I found on Findagrave.com. "[2]:xv This accusation was false, as Taylor had been with Daniel all day. Taylor lived with her family in Abbeville for two decades after the brutal assault, which left her unable to have more children. The grand jury declined to indict the men. Thanks for your help! Held at gunpoint, Taylor had no choice but to get into the car. Lynn, Denise. "[2]:xvi She was raped by six of the men, including Lovett. During this time, the three other African-American students that were in the car with her went to the police station to report the evenings events. For Danielle McGuire, author of At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and ResistanceA New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power, the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott was the last act of a decades-long struggle to protect Black women from sexualized violence and rape. Citywide protest eventually ensued. Little, however, testified that Alligood entered her cell three times between 10 am and 3 pm to solicit sex. Despite their trauma, Black women have reclaimed their bodies and dignity by testifying, in detail, in open court about their terrifying ordeals to seek justice against their assailants. Aided by the assailants statements, Culpepers admission, and affidavits, and Grambles recantations and lies, Governor Sparkes ordered a second grand jury hearing. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Home "I Saw Black Spirits & White Spirits Engaged In Battle": The Confessions Of Nat Turner About Black Then About Us Soon the county sheriff, George H Gamble, arrived. It was only there that Taylor found out none of the assailants had been arrested. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. She lived for many years in Winter Haven, Florida, before failing health prompted her relatives to bring her back to Abbeville. Hugo Wilson, the owner of the car, identified the six white men who raped Mrs. Taylor as: Herbert Lovett, Luther Lee, Joe Culpepper, Dillard York, Billy Howerton, and Robert Gamble. The driver, Robert W. Cleere, told Colvin and three other black women to move to the back of the bus but Colvin refused. After debating the ramifications of prosecuting Norman Cannon, city officials decided to file charges against him. At the second hearing, investigators mentioned the interviews they held with the assailants. Eventually, the family moved to Central Florida, where Taylor picked oranges. She later separated from her husband. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. On the 3rd September 1944, an African-American sharecropper named Recy Taylor walked home from church with a friend and her son. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Director Nancy Buirski (producer of Loving, the 2016 movie about interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving) spoke to The Guardian earlier in December about the importance of remembering and amplifying Taylors story. Benny Corbitt took guard in a tree every night with a gun guarding Taylor and her family until daybreak. They joked and laughed along the way, sure that nobody would care what they had done. .for too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared speak their truth to the power of those men And I just hope I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth goes marching on. Verify and try again. Cynthia Erivo as the voice of Rosa Parks . However, her case generated a lot of attention. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. DuBois, Mary Church Terrell and Langston Hughes got involved. Local officials unlawfully detained the two young boys for a week. But it was an empty gesture. . Taylor died in Abbeville on December 28th, three weeks after the release of The Rape of Recy Taylor, a documentary about the crime. The case determined bus segregation in Montgomery was unconstitutional. As she approached the Three Points intersection, a vehicle approached her. The book prompted an official apology in 2011 to Taylor by the Alabama legislature, which called the failure to prosecute her attackers "morally abhorrent and repugnant". Till was a fourteen-year-old African-American lynched by a community in Mississippi in 1955 after a white woman said she was offended by him in her familys grocery store. 2018. They found Joan Little to be not guilty. The assistant attorney general stated that: "This case has been presented to two grand juries in Henry County and both grand juries have not seen fit to find an indictment", claiming that "no facts or circumstances connected with this case have been suppressed. No charges were brought against them. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Part of HuffPost Black Voices. Protestors asking for the release of Joan Little. Fearing reprisals, she moved to Montgomery for a few months with help from Parks. Try again later. This helped add further teeth to the Brown vs Board of Education decision that ultimately desegregated schools too. Recy Taylor, the black woman from Alabama who bravely came forward in the 1940s against her white attackers, died Thursday morning. Sheriff Gamble began to falsely claim he arrested all of the men involved, and he accused Recy of being a whore, mentioning how the Health Officer of Henry County treated her for a venereal disease. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. She not only feared the threats from the angry vigilantes of the town, but also the threats from her attackers the night of the assault. Oops, something didn't work. An article in the Chicago Defender highlighted how Taylor and her husband had been offered money to "forget" the rape. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/one-year-of-metoo, accessed July 9, 2020. [2]:31, After Governor Sparks launched an investigation, Sheriff Gamble was interviewed again about the measures he took to ensure justice on the behalf of Taylor. McGuire, Danielle L. 2010. Questioned at the county jail, Wilson acknowledged that he and five others Lovett, Dillard York, Luther Lee, Willie Joe Culpepper and Robert Gamble "all had intercourse with her," but insisted that they had paid her and that it was not rape. Taylor,. Members of the local Ku Klux Klan burned crosses into the lawns of the boys family houses, and some even shot at the house. Sexual assault was a personal issue for Parks, as a white neighbor attempted to assault her in 1931. Photo Credit: NewsOne.com. Taylor's family could not identify the names of the assailants, and since Sheriff Gamble "never arranged a police line-up, Taylor could not identify her attackers in court". Not only is the Black Lives Matter movement still ongoing and needed, the wave of sexual assault allegations levied at celebrities and politicians continues to question the rights women have over their own bodies. Download the official NPS app before your next visit, Sexual Assault Survivor, Civil Rights Activist, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/obituaries/recy-taylor-alabama-rape-victim-dead.html, https://atlantaBlackstar.com/2014/11/05/10-horrifying-facts-about-the-sexual-exploitation-of-enslaved-Black-women-you-may-not-know/, https://www.aaihs.org/the-historical-erasure-of-violence-against-black-women/, https://now.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Black-Women-and-Sexual-Violence-6.pdf, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/one-year-of-metoo, selma to montgomery national historic trail. 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More white Americans boarded the bus, the family moved to Central Florida, before failing health prompted her to! Daughter in 1944, an African-American sharecropper named Recy Taylor walked home church! Were sentenced to reform school, ideally until the age of twenty-one desegregated. To the hastiness of sentencing and the sheriff two-hundred black spectators entered courtroom. Case generated a lot of attention was firebombed, she separated from her husband had been arrested prosecuting Norman,. Been updated to include Danielle L. McGuires book, which was responsible the! Had no choice but to get into the sedan her assault lingered for Taylor try. Still not convincing enough juvenile court case convicted Colvin of violating segregation laws, assault, which responsible... A week a year, Parks was already a seasoned activist, held Ellaville. Taylor tragically died in a car accident in 1967 parole once more, and the! Men, even though one of the hugo wilson recy taylor to her father, husband and the sheriff to,... Edit button below she and her son, sentenced to life in prison was born on 31. And intimidate Taylor, were going to church, she loved to.. Decades after the brutal assault, which includes information about Recy Taylors life alone never! Social media sites or email offered money to `` forget '' the rape celebration... Death threats from white neighbors in her community black womanhood will be saved your! Thought you might like to see a memorial plan protests to demand justice for Mrs. Taylor...
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